An Indian court on Wednesday acquitted all 32 accused in the Babri Masjid case after a judge controversially ruled that the demolition was not preplanned.
A special court of India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Lucknow issued the verdict nearly thirty years after a mob of Hindu extremists razed the historic mosque to the ground.
As expected, the verdict attracted strong reactions not only from around the globe, but Indians too.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Foreign Office (FO) has also strongly reacted to the decision, calling it shameful.
BABRI MOSQUE:
Babri Masjid was a mosque in Ayodhya, India. Located in Ayodhya district, at a spot believed by Hindus to be the birthplace of Hindu deity Rama, it has been a bone of contention between the Hindu and Muslim communities since the 18th century.
The destruction of the mosque in 1992 sparked massive Hindu-Muslim violence that left around 2,000 people dead.
Hindu hardliners say the mosque was built after a temple dedicated to the Hindu god was destroyed by Muslim invaders. After the demolition of the mosque, Hindus and Muslims took the issue to a lower court, which, in 2010 ruled that the disputed land should be divided into three parts — two for Hindus and one for Muslims.
Late last year, the Indian Supreme Court (SC) had put to rest the decades-old Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case, deciding in favour of Hindus.
The Indian top court had allotted Ayodhya land to Ram Janambhoomi Nyas (Ram Birthplace Trust).
Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas is an organisation to promote and oversee the construction of a temple in Ayodhya at the Ram Janmabhoomi, the reputed site of the birth of Rama, the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Hindu God Vishnu.
