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Advani given benefit of doubt in mosque demolition case

AFP, New Delhi
Indian Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani was acquitted by an Indian court last month for his role in the demolition of an ancient mosque on the basis of conflicting witness statements, court papers reveal.
A special court at northern Rae Bareli town on September 19 cleared Advani of all charges relating to the 1992 razing of the Babri Mosque, an event which set off nationwide riots, on the basis of a lack of a "deep suspicion" against him.
The court, however, charged seven other top Hindu nationalists, including senior minister Murli Manohar Joshi over the demolition.
On Tuesday, the Rae Bareli court was barred from proceeding against Joshi by a higher court.
Advani, Joshi and six others had faced charges of inciting a mob of thousands to pull down the 16th-century mosque in the town of Ayodhya in India's northern Uttar Pradesh state, triggering Hindu-Muslim riots that killed some 2,000 people.
In delivering its verdict, the court said there was no "deep suspicion" against Advani only a "suspicion", which was not enough for conviction.
The court said that while one set of witnesses claimed that Advani did nothing to stop Hindu activists from climbing the domes of the mosque, another said the deputy prime minister was worried at what was happening and wanted the activists to stop the demolition.
Faced with these contradictory versions, Justice Vinod Kumar Singh gave Advani the benefit of the doubt.
"Based on the evidence presented in this court and the statements of witnesses and the arguments on both sides, this court is of the view that only in the case of accused Lal Krishna Advani, there exist two possible viewpoints," Justice Singh said.
"One view is that prima facie, Advani committed the charged crime and the other view is that he did not. After studying the evidence presented, I am of the opinion that there is only suspicion with regard to the charges against Advani, not deep suspicion.
"On the other hand, in the case of others... there is a deep suspicion with regard to the prima facie charges."
Statements made by several key witnesses proved crucial in bringing an end to one of the most excruciating periods in the life of the deputy prime minister who is considered the BJP's eventual successor to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.
One of the statements was that of Anju Gupta, then assistant superintendent of police, Faizabad who was attached to Advani's security on December 6, 1992.
Recalling the events of the day, she told the court: "I saw some boys heading towards the structure from Kuber Tola, carrying various tools. Then Mr. Advani asked me what was happening inside the temple..."
The court said this statement by
Gupta indicated that Advani was unaware of what was happening at the time of the demolition.
"It appears prima facie from Anju Gupta's statement that Advani was unaware of what was happening after the demolition began," it said.
"Apart from this, she (Gupta) also stated that Advani said, 'I will go there and ask the people to come down.' This presents a view contrary to the prima facie charges against him," the court said.
Gupta's statement does not mention any of the other accused saying they would ask people to stop the demolition.
Another key witness Ganesh Swaminath Gupta told the court: "...at that point of time I could recognise the voice of Mr L.K. Advani on the loudspeakers appealing to people to come down from the mosque structure but nobody (heeded) the appeal..."
He was backed up by another witness, Rakesh Sinha, who said in his statement that he "also heard Mr L.K. Advani making an appeal to get down from the mosque structure. He made repeated appeals..."
Other witnesses also said several appeals were made to the activists to stop the demolition but no one listened.
In addition to this, the court said that in the videotapes presented before it, there was no visual of any leader making a speech while the demolition was being carried out.
When the BJP was in opposition Advani campaigned to "rebuild" a temple at the site of the Babri Mosque, which Hindu activists say was built by Muslim rulers who destroyed a shrine marking the birth of the Hindu warrior god Ram.