Court acquits accused in mosque demolition

LUCKNOW, India — An Indian court this week acquitted all 32 people accused of crimes in a 1992 attack and demolition of a 16th century mosque that sparked Hindu-Muslim violence leaving some 2,000 people dead.

Four senior leaders of the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, were among the defendants in a trial that languished in India’s sluggish legal system for almost 28 years. Seventeen of the 49 accused died of natural causes during the trial.

The four BJP leaders were accused of making inflammatory speeches that incited tens of thousands of their followers who had camped out in the city of Ayodhya ahead of the attack on the mosque.

Last year, India’s Supreme Court ruled in favour of building a Hindu temple on the disputed site. Hindus believe their god Ram was born there and say the Muslim Emperor Babur built a mosque on top of a temple at the site.

The Supreme Court also ruled that the demolition of the Babri Masjid was illegal and ordered that the separate trial in the mosque demolition case be completed expeditiously.

On Dec. 6, 1992, tens of thousands of Hindus gathered for a rally near the disputed site, and groups climbed the mosque and demolished it with axes and hammers.

Judge Surendra Kumar Yadav ruled there was no criminal conspiracy to attack the mosque by hard-line Hindu activists and no conclusive evidence to prove it, said attorney Rishab Tripathi, who represented one of the defendants.

Some of those acquitted and their supporters shouted ”Jai Shree Ram,” hailing the god Ram, in the court. They later distributed sweets outside the court to celebrate the decision.

The four acquitted BJP leaders have said the mosque’s demolition was a spontaneous eruption by angry Hindus.

The Muslim community will challenge the acquittals in an appeals court. “This is an erroneous judgment, as it is against evidence and against law,” said Jaffaryab Jilani, representing the All India Muslim Law Board.