Babri Masjid demolition case verdict: A look at the key accused

A special court of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Lucknow will pronounce its verdict in the 28-year-old case of Babri Masjid demolition on Wednesday. Among the 32 accused are veteran BJP leaders Lal Krishna Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti and Kalyan Singh.

Advani, Joshi, and Bharati are accused of a conspiracy that led to the demolition of the 15th Century mosque on December 6, 1992. In a landmark verdict, the Supreme Court in November 2019 ordered the construction of the Ram temple at the site. On August 5, 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the groundbreaking ceremony of the temple.

Also Read| Babri demolition case hearing tomorrow: A timeline of the case

Kalyan Singh was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh at the time of the demolition. His government was dismissed on the evening of December 6,1992.

Here’s a list of some of the key accused in the case and the charges they face:

1. Lal Krishna Advani, 92

The veteran leader, who played a key role in forming and nurturing the Bharatiya Janata Party, assumed the leadership of the Ram Janmbhoomi Movement in 1984 that propelled him and he became the party president in 1986.

After taking over the party reins in 1986, Advani led a ‘Rath Yatra’, a political and religious rally, that started in September 1990 from Somnath in Gujarat, via central India, but was stopped in Bihar’s Samastipur in October. The rally was aimed at educating people about the Ayodhya movement.

On the day of the Babri Masjid demolition, on December 6, 1992, Advani was present, barely at a distance of 200 metres from the site. He has been named by the CBI as a conspirator in the demolition case.

2. Murli Manohar Joshi, 86

Accused of being a conspirator by the CBI, veteran BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, who was the party president from 1991 to 1993, was present at the site on December 6, 1992.

According to the CBI chargesheet, “On the day of demolition, he was provoking kar sevaks to “demolish the mosque, while shouting provocative slogans.”

The senior leader, during the course of hearing, has denied all charges against him and dubbed them as fabricated and politically motivated.

3. Uma Bharti, 61

“Ek dhakka aur do, aur Babri Masjid tod do,” [Give another push and break down the Babri Masjid], said BJP leader and former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Uma Bharti, according to the CBI chargesheet. During her deposition in court, she said, “I will always be proud that I took part in this campaign.”

Bharti, who is currently in hospital after testing positive for COVID-19, has said in a letter to party president JP Nadda that she will not seek bail and is ready to be hanged if found guilty.

4. Kalyan Singh, 88

The CBI chargesheet says that Kalyan Singh, who was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh the day Babri Masjid was demolished, made speeches and gave statements that were indicative of ‘his complicity’ in the demolition of the disputed structure.

The CBI says Singh had also acquired the 2.77 acres around the disputed land for tourism purposes, which later became the site for thousands of kar sevaks to gather around the mosque to demolish it. The CBI has blamed Singh for actively participating in the demolition process of Babri Masjid rather than protecting it as the state’s CM.