Security tightened in Ayodhya

Security was beefed up and intelligence units stepped up vigil in Ayodhya in Faizabad district of Uttar Pradesh after a group of Muslims put up a small model of the now-demolished Babri mosque, officials said on Thursday.

The move was apparently in retaliation to ferrying of stones into Karsewakpuram in Ayodhya for the proposed Ram temple at the spot where the mosque once stood till December 6, 1992.

Police officials said some locals put up a thermacol model of the Babri mosque in Ayodhaya's Kaziyana locality, very near the disputed site.

District officials got the model removed and appealed to people not to disturb communal harmony in the town.

Hashim Ansari, a litigant in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri mosque dispute, denied involvement in the development. His family said some local youth were involved.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has instructed officials to ensure nobody foments trouble in the garb of the temple movement.