A Prayagraj court delivered its verdict today on the Ayodhya terror attack of 2005 (Representational)
Fourteen years after a terror attack in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya, a special court in Prayagraj has today sentenced four of the accused to life imprisonment and acquitted one. Two civilians had died in a cross fire that followed the attack.
Terrorists of a Pakistan-based terrorist group had tried to attack the makeshift temple at the disputed Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid site in Ayodhya on July 5, 2005.
The terrorists had posed as pilgrims and hired a jeep on the outskirts of Ayodhya. The jeep then exploded near the boundary of the disputed area. The terrorists also used a rocket launcher to fire inside the makeshift temple.
These five terrorists were gunned down in an hour-long encounter with security forces while five others were later arrested after investigation. The accused, who were arrested later, were charged with attempted murder and conspiracy.
Seven CRPF personnel were also injured in the encounter, three of them seriously.
One person was arrested from western Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur and four others were arrested from Jammu and Kashmir.
The judge also imposed a total fine of Rs 2.4 lakh on the convicts. One of the accused, Mohammad Aziz, has been acquitted in the case.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath welcomed the judgment. On the acquittal of one person in the case, he said the state government would take appropriate action after examining the ruling.
The case was transferred to Allahabad (now Prayagraj) from Faizabad because lawyers the city refused to appear for the accused.