The special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court has deposed as many as 32 accused in the Babri Masjid Demolition case following its inspection of the prosecution witnesses.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Lal Krishna Advani on July 24, 2020, recorded his statement with regards to the Babri mosque demolition matter. The veteran politician was recorded before the special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court investigating the matter in Lucknow through technology-enabled platforms of video conferencing.
On July 23, 2020, the special court undertook the statement of one other BJP veteran politician, Murli Manohar Joshi regarding the details of the matter. Joshi claimed before the special CBI court that he was not guilty and incriminated falsely in the case under the hands of the then Congress government in power.
The veteran 86-year-old leader had also tagged the prosecution witnesses in the matter as liars.
The entire investigation was conducted under the political influence and he was charged on the basis of false and fabricated evidence, Murli Joshi contended before the court.
The court deposed Murli Manohar Joshi while his counsel Advocate Vimal Kumar Srivastava, Advocate KK Mishra, and Advocate Abhishek Ranjan were in attendance on the video call.
The counsel for prosecution federation CBI, Lalit Singh, R K Yadav, and P Chakravarti was also in attendance in the court while the proceedings were going on.
As instructed by the Supreme Court, the special court is holding a hearing every day for the matter in order to terminate the trial by August 31, 2020. BJP leader and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Uma Bharti had turned up before the court in person earlier in July 2020 in order to make her statement with regards to the demolition case. In her statement, she also repeated that the then Congress government in power at the center was guilty of incriminating her in the issue citing the reason as political vendetta.
The Babri mosque in Ayodhya was demolished on December 6, 1992, by kar sevaks who were of the belief that the Masjid was standing on the birthplace of Hindu God Ram.
The argument that has been going on for decades now, over the site, was finally settled in 2019 when the Supreme Court gave an order that the site be presented to a trust to build a temple and that an alternative land be given to officials in Ayodhya for the making of a mosque. LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, and various others have been caught in the whirlwind and been accused of being involved in the conspiracy to demolish the Babri mosque.
The ceremony of laying the first stone of the Ram temple is likely to be arranged in the first week of August 2020 where the Prime Minister is expected to be present. Lal Krishna Advani is also likely to be in attendance at the historic event.
