All 32 accused in the Babri Masjid demolition case have been acquitted by a special CBI court in Lucknow including LK Advani, Uma Bharti, Kalyan Singh and Murli Manohar Joshi. The acquitted leaders have welcomed the judgement.
CBI judge Surendra Kumar Yadav reading the operative part of the verdict said the demolition was not ‘pre-planned’.
Unlawful elements were involved in the demolition of the Babri mosque, the court said, adding that the leaders tried to stop them. He said that Ashok Singhal and other Sangh Parivar leaders wanted to save the structure as Ram Lalla statues were inside.
Those acquitted in the case that lasted 28 years include former Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani, former Union Ministers M.M. Joshi, Uma Bharti, former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh and Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, among others.
“I wholeheartedly welcome the judgement by…