The Hindu : ASI team in Ayodhya, excavation begins today

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Mar 10, 2003

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ASI team in Ayodhya, excavation begins today

Ayodhya March 9. A 12-member team of the Archaeological Survey of India arrived here today to excavate the disputed Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid site following a High Court order, amid tight security arrangements.

Two additional companies of the Central Reserve Police Force and three companies of the Provincial Armed Constabulary have been deployed at the site where the team, led by B. R. Mani, will start excavation work tomorrow, the Inspector-General of Police, Lucknow, A.K. Jain, told reporters here.

Foolproof arrangements were in place in and around the acquired land, and the excavation area would be cordoned off. A human wall would be formed between the makeshift Ram temple and the excavation site and no visitor would be allowed inside the area, Mr. Jain said. Pilgrims, however, would be allowed to offer prayers at the temple.

Members of the ASI team and labourers engaged in excavation would be given identity cards. And the tools used in the exercise would be listed and kept in safe custody after the day's work. Adequate security would be provided to the team and the relics, artefacts and other articles found during the excavation would be kept in safe custody.

The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on Wednesday directed the ASI to start excavation at the disputed site, without disturbing the 10 sq ft area where the idol of Ram Lalla is placed, to ascertain whether or not a temple existed in the area before the Babri Masjid was built. The ASI was given a week's time to begin the work and a month's time to finish it.

Jain forum stakes claim

A Jain forum, meanwhile, staked claim to the disputed site today, saying the demolished structure was built on the remnants of an ancient Jain temple, a report from Jodhpur said. ``The only structure that would be found during excavation would be a sixth century Jain temple,'' Jain Samata Vahini, a social organisation of the Jains, said in a statement. ``We want the site to be handed over to us in case a Jain temple is found,'' the organisation's general secretary, Sohan Mehta, said.

PTI

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