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Ayodhya administration sees
bigger threat from terrorists

After successfully plugging the flow of kar sevaks into Ayodhya, the local administration is now having to deal with new a threat.

Intelligence available with Faizabad Divisional Commissioner Anil Kumar Gupta indicates that the temple town faces a serious threat of a terrorist strike. "We would not be surprised if a band of terrorists is already in or around Ayodhya. We have intelligence about two Kashmiri terrorist organisations having planned a major strike in Ayodhya," Gupta said.

He attributed the intensified patrolling and restrictions on civilian movements, that have created a curfew-like situation in Ayodhya, to this terrorist threat.

"Right now we are more concerned about keeping Ayodhya safe from terrorists. The number of kar sevaks in Ayodhya has already been brought down from around 20,000 last month to just 500- 600," Gupta said.

Asked how he hoped to identify militants, he said: "That's the reason why we are keeping outsiders away... it makes our task simpler."

Though Gupta did not confirm this, mobile frequency jammers have been installed in Ayodhya to make communication on cells phones -- a popular piece of equipment with terrorists -- difficult.

Asked what kind of trouble terrorists were likely to create in Ayodhya, Gupt said: "Well, their objective would be served by simply planting a bomb in a big crowd or inside one of the 1200-odd temples in the town. One spark in Ayodhya would trigger off riots across the country."

The Ayodhya Issue: Complete Coverage

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