Police kill assailants at India holy site
Tuesday 05 July 2005, 10:50 Makka Time, 7:50 GMT
Indian
security forces have killed five armed men who raided a religious site
in northern India claimed by both Hindus and Muslims.
The gun battle at the disputed site in Ayodhya
town, about 600km southeast of New Delhi, had ended and the
complex was in the control of police, TV reports said on
Tuesday.
"Five
militants have been killed. Fortunately all the pilgrims are safe and
the site is protected ... three [members of the] security forces have
been injured," said Alok Sinha, the home secretary of Uttar Pradesh state, where the temple complex is located.
The
complex houses a makeshift temple to Hindu deity Ram, erected after
Hindu mobs destroyed a 16th century mosque there in 1992, saying it was
built on the site where they believe Ram was born thousands of years
ago.
Sinha said
the attackers used two vehicles in the assault - a jeep loaded with
bombs that blew up part of a wall at the outer periphery of the
high-security complex, and a car which they drove through the breach in
the wall.
Sinha said it was too early to say who was involved.
Lapsed security
"There
has been a security lapse. We will fix responsibility and take
corrective action," said Arun Kumar Sinha, a senior local official.
Ayodhya
is guarded at all times by thousands of police and paramilitary
soldiers, and the site has multiple barricades where every worshipper
is frisked before being allowed in.
Security is so tight that even pens, pencils, lighters and matchboxes are prohibited.
Disputed site
The
disputed site at Ayodhya created deep divisions between India's Hindus
and its minority Muslims after the nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) led a campaign in the late 1980s to build a Ram temple on the
site of the mosque, culminating in its destruction.
Reports
of Tuesday's attack hurt Indian shares, which fell as far as to 7249.55
points after hitting a record high of 7308.72 in early trade. The main Bombay index later recovered slightly and was down 0.14% at 7267.88 points at 0115 GMT.
Laying blame
Even
before the shootout with police was over, Hindu nationalists blamed
Pakistan-backed "jihad terrorists" for the attack and said the incident
proved India's recent peace overtures to Islamabad were a failure.
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"To attack the Ram Janbhoomi, the holiest shrine of the Hindus, is a very serious thing and there should be an equal reaction"
BJP president Lal Krishna Advani | The main opposition BJP called for a nationwide strike on Wednesday to protest the assault.
"To
attack the Ram Janbhoomi, the holiest shrine of the Hindus, is a very
serious thing and there should be an equal reaction," BJP president Lal
Krishna Advani said.
But the parent body of BJP appealed to
the public to keep any protests peaceful. A leading Islamic leader also
urged peace, saying the attackers helped neither their faith nor their
country.
Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh called a cabinet meeting in New Delhi to discuss the
possible fallout of the attack.
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