(September 25, 2010) Church officials in Madhya Pradesh state have set up a hotline
for people to report incidents of sectarian violence ahead of a court verdict on a
controversial religious site. “People will just have to call the helpline and tell
us what is going on,” said Father Anand Muttungal, who is in charge of the service.
“We will in turn inform the police about the happenings.” The Allahabad High Court
in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh state was to pronounce its verdict on September 24 on
the ownership of a plot of land in the state’s Ayodhya town, where a disputed 16th-century
mosque stood. The Supreme Court yesterday deferred the judgment by one week. Hindu
zealots demolished the mosque in December 1992, claiming that Muslim ruler Babur had
demolished a Hindu temple there in order to build the mosque. The demolition sparked
off nation-wide Hindu-Muslim riots. Protracted legal battles continued over the ownership
of the land. As part of security arrangements, the federal government banned sending
mass text and multimedia messages in the country. In the past some groups have used
such means to mobilize crowds for riots. Madhya Pradesh, which has several areas that
are prone to sectarian violence, has stepped up security, including night-time police
patrolling. Father Muttungal along with leaders of other religious and secular organizations
also met Chauhan to discuss the matter, who also issued special instructions to his
officials and ministers to maintain law and order at all costs.