The Evening Wrap: Multi-layer security cover in Ayodhya for Ram temple consecration

Invitees to the “Pran Pratishtha” consecration ceremony at the Ram temple started arriving on January 21 in Ayodhya — once a sleepy town now resplendent with new infrastructure and gripped by heightened religious fervour on the eve of a seminal event in India’s political and religious history. The town, about 140 km west of Lucknow, was bedecked with multi-coloured flowers as recordings of ‘Ram dhun’ played from loudspeakers and townsfolk dressed as Lord Ram, Sita, Lakshman and Hanuman paraded down the streets followed by delirious devotees, and news camera crews. Ceremonial gates depicting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ in floral patterns and illumination visible at night add to the aura of the ancient city which has undergone a massive infrastructural growth in the last couple of years after the 2019 Supreme Court verdict on the Ram temple issue. The streets and skyline of Ayodhya are covered with saffron flags fluttering from rooftops of buildings, small and big. The grand ceremony of the much-awaited ‘Pran Pratishtha’ will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, following which the shrine will be opened for the public a day later. The ceremony will begin at 12.20 pm and is expected to end by 1 pm. The PM will then address a gathering of more than 7,000 people, including seers and prominent personalities, at the venue. The entire event will be telecast live to a nationwide audience of millions, and more outside India. A multi-layer security cover is in place in Ayodhya, with 10,000 CCTVs keeping an eye on the movement of people and police personnel in plain clothes deployed at the venue. Policemen of the Uttar Pradesh Anti Terrorist Squad conducted patrolling in Ayodhya on January 20. Movable barriers with barbed wires attached to it can be spotted virtually at every prominent crossing in the city, as policemen use them to regulate traffic especially during VVIP movements. “The ‘pran pratishtha’ ceremony, which will be held on January 22, is going to be a historic event. For this, the Uttar Pradesh Police has made elaborate security arrangements and along with it, security has been ensured for every road along the entire red zone, yellow zone and Ayodhya district,” Director General (DG), Law and Order, Prashant Kumar had recently said. To ensure better security arrangements at the programme venue in Ayodhya, technology is being used on a large scale. “For this, 10,000 CCTV cameras have been installed in the entire Ayodhya district. In some of these CCTV cameras, we are using AI-based technology so that we can maintain a strict vigil on commuters,” the DG said. Police personnel with multi-lingual skills will be deployed in plain clothes at the programme venue. The senior police official also said the security along the Saryu river has also been increased with the help of NDRF and SDRF teams. Ram temple consecration| Bombay HC dismisses plea challenging Maharashtra government’s decision to declare public holiday on January 22 The Bombay High Court on January 21 rejected a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by four law students challenging the Maharashtra government’s decision to declare a public holiday on January 22 for the Ram temple consecration in Ayodhya. The court deemed the petition “politically motivated, frivolous and vexatious”, advising the students to utilise their time more constructively. A Bench of Justices Girish Kulkarni and Neela Gokhale, which held a special hearing for the petition filed by students from Maharashtra and Gujarat, refrained from imposing the exemplary cost on the petitioners due to their age and criticised the plea’s political overtones. It said: “The petition has political overtones and it appears to be a petition that is politically motivated and a publicity interest litigation. A glare for publicity seems to be apparent from the tenor of the petition and the arguments made in the open court.” The Maharashtra government argued that declaring a holiday was an executive policy decision beyond judicial scrutiny. In their petition, Shivangi Agarwal, Satyajeet Salve, Vedant Agarwal and Khushi Bangia, claimed it was a “gross abuse of power for political purposes”, and sought that the High Court quash the government order declaring a holiday on January 22. The court said the petitioners had also questioned the wisdom of the Supreme Court in an order passed in another matter and this had shaken “our judicial conscience”. The court found the plea to be frivolous, questioning its political remarks and the premature media disclosure. “We have no doubt that this PIL has been filed for extraneous reasons. It appears to be absolutely frivolous and vexatious and does not deserve the attention of court,” the Bench said, adding that there was no doubt that such petitions were a “blatant abuse of law” and could not be kept pending. “As pointed out by the respondent [Maharashtra government], there are some statements about political agenda in the plea that are political in nature...some are very reckless statements. On whose motivation or at whose instance have those statements been included in the plea,” the Bench asked. Assam Government threatening people not to join Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, alleges Rahul Gandhi Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on January 21 alleged that Assam’s BJP-led government has been threatening people against joining the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra and also refusing permissions for programmes along the route. But people are not afraid of the BJP, Gandhi claimed, addressing a public gathering at the Biswanath Chariali, the headquarters of the Biswanath district. He also said that his party will win by huge margins in the coming elections. Gandhi said, “We don’t make long speeches as part of the yatra. We travel every day for 7-8 hours, listen to your issues and our aim is to raise these issues.” He alleged that people are being threatened against joining the yatra and permission was denied to hold programmes along its routes while flags and banners of the Congress are being damaged in the State. The yatra re-entered Assam through Biswanath from Arunachal Pradesh on January 21 morning. Gandhi also continued to target Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, terming him the “most corrupt CM in the country”. Meanwhile, Sarma said Gandhi should avoid visiting the birthplace of Srimanta Sankardeva at Batadrava on January 22, as there can be no competition between Lord Ram and the medieval age Vaishnav saint revered as an icon in the State. Sarma said that commandos will be deployed along sensitive routes of minority-dominated areas to be taken by Gandhi on January 22, the day of the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. He can go after the consecration ceremony without creating “unnecessary competition which will be sad for Assam’‘, Sarma said. For January 22, the Congress has chosen a route through Morigaon, Jagiroad and Nellie, which could have been avoided, the Sarma said. District Commissioners and Superintendents of Police of these areas have been directed to increase patrolling and maintain a strict vigil, Sarma said. Russian private jet carrying six people believed to have crashed in Afghanistan, say officials A Russian private jet carrying six people is believed to have crashed in a remote area of rural Afghanistan, authorities said on January 21. The crash happened on January 20 in a mountainous area near Zebak district in Badakhshan Province, regional spokesman Zabihullah Amiri said, adding that a rescue team had been dispatched to the area. Zebak, a rural, mountainous area, home to only several thousand people, is roughly 250 km northeast of Kabul. Badakhshan police chief’s office also confirmed the report of the crash in a statement. In Moscow, Russian civil aviation authorities said a Dassault Falcon 10 went missing with four crew members and two passengers. The Russian-registered aircraft “stopped communicating and disappeared from radar screens,” authorities said. It described the flight as starting from Thailand’s U-Tapao–Rayong–Pattaya International Airport. The plane had been operating as a charter ambulance flight on a route from Gaya, India, to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, onward to Zhukovsky International Airport in Moscow. Russian officials said the plane belongs to Athletic Group LLC. and a private individual. They also said the Falcon 10 involved in the crash had been built in 1978. Russia’s Investigative Committee later said it had opened a criminal case on charges relating to potential violations of air safety rules or negligence. Procedures call for such investigations to open over suspected crashes. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also said that the Russian Embassy in Afghanistan was working with local officials on the incident. A separate Taliban statement from Abdul Wahid Rayan, a spokesman for the Taliban’s Information and Culture Ministry, described the plane as “belonging to a Moroccan company.” Rayan blamed an “engine problem” for the crash, without elaborating. The Taliban’s chief spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said Afghan air force rescue teams were searching the area. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said the plane that crashed in Afghanistan was not an Indian carrier, as is being wrongly attributed by some sources. Tracking data from FlightRadar24 for the aircraft, analysed by the AP, showed the aircraft’s last position just south of the city of Peshawar, Pakistan, at around 1330 GMT on Jan. 20. Rajasthan High Court turns down minor rape survivor’s plea to terminate pregnancy The Rajasthan High Court declined a plea of a 11-year-old rape survivor to terminate her 31-week pregnancy, saying a fully developed foetus also has the right to life and live a healthy life without any abnormalities. The court observed that any attempt to terminate the pregnancy at this advanced stage is likely to lead to a premature delivery and the same may affect the neurotic development of the unborn child. The survivor was allegedly raped by her father and filed the plea through her maternal uncle. The plea stated that the girl does not wish to give birth to such a child as it would be a constant reminder of the atrocities committed on her and would not be good for her mental health and social well being. A bench of Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand, in an order on Wednesday, said the delay by the child in approaching the court has only further aggravated the said aspect of termination of pregnancy. There is no material available on the record on the basis of which this court may differ with the opinion expressed by the medical board. “The medical board is in the opinion that abortion at such an advanced stage would endanger her life. The court observed that any attempt of termination of pregnancy at this advanced stage is likely to lead to a premature delivery and the same may affect the neurotic development of the unborn child. The fully developed foetus also has the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution of India to enter in this world and live a healthy life without any abnormalities,” the court order said. The victim’s lawyer Fatehchand Saini said the FIR was lodged by her maternal uncle against the child’s father under sections of Indian Penal Code Section 376 (rape) and sections of POCSO Act. The victim’s father is an alcoholic while mother is mentally challenged. The girl’s father had earlier this month left the daughter at the house of her maternal uncle who lodged the FIR on the survivor’s behalf, according to the plea. A case has been registered in the matter at the Shahpura police station in Jaipur Rural. Saini said the medical examination of the girl was done by a medical board, the report of which was presented in the court on January 17. The medical board stated that considering the girl’s age and weight and her deranged liver function tests, she is at high risk with regard to her pregnancy. The court also cited a 2023 Supreme Court case involving a 28-week pregnant woman, as well as two matters before the Punjab and Haryana High Court where it turned down pleas to terminate pregnancy of minor rape survivors, stating that this court has no valid reason to take a different view. Considering the case, the court said the girl can stay at a home for girls till she attains adulthood and also issued direction to the State government, police and health staff to look after the girl’s well being. The court directed the superintendent of Mahila Chikitsalya to ensure a safe delivery, to retain and preserve the tissues, cord and blood sample of foetus for the purpose of DNA test by forensic lab and hand over them to the investigating officer of the case when required. Upon birth, the child may be handed over to the Child Welfare Committee which may put him or her up for adoption in accordance with law. The court also directed the Rajasthan State Legal Services Authority (RSLSA) and the District Legal services Authority (DLSA), Jaipur, to provide compensation to the survivor under the provision of the Rajasthan Victim Compensation Scheme, 2011. In brief Two Hezbollah fighters were killed on January 21 when an Israeli drone hit their vehicle in southern Lebanon, security sources said. Their ranks were not revealed but a source close to the Iranian-backed group said they were not senior figures. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 21 January 2024 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( Ayodhya Ram temple consecration | City in grip of religious fervour; multi-layer security cover in place [Invitees to the “Pran Pratishtha” consecration ceremony at the Ram temple started arriving on January 21 in Ayodhya]( — once a sleepy town now resplendent with new infrastructure and gripped by heightened religious fervour on the eve of a seminal event in India’s political and religious history. The town, about 140 km west of Lucknow, was bedecked with multi-coloured flowers as recordings of ‘Ram dhun’ played from loudspeakers and townsfolk dressed as Lord Ram, Sita, Lakshman and Hanuman paraded down the streets followed by delirious devotees, and news camera crews. Ceremonial gates depicting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ in floral patterns and illumination visible at night add to the aura of the ancient city which has undergone a massive infrastructural growth in the last couple of years after the 2019 Supreme Court verdict on the Ram temple issue. The streets and skyline of Ayodhya are covered with saffron flags fluttering from rooftops of buildings, small and big. The grand ceremony of the much-awaited ‘Pran Pratishtha’ will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, following which the shrine will be opened for the public a day later. The ceremony will begin at 12.20 pm and is expected to end by 1 pm. The PM will then address a gathering of more than 7,000 people, including seers and prominent personalities, at the venue. The entire event will be telecast live to a nationwide audience of millions, and more outside India. [A multi-layer security cover is in place in Ayodhya]( with 10,000 CCTVs keeping an eye on the movement of people and police personnel in plain clothes deployed at the venue. Policemen of the Uttar Pradesh Anti Terrorist Squad conducted patrolling in Ayodhya on January 20. Movable barriers with barbed wires attached to it can be spotted virtually at every prominent crossing in the city, as policemen use them to regulate traffic especially during VVIP movements. “The ‘pran pratishtha’ ceremony, which will be held on January 22, is going to be a historic event. For this, the Uttar Pradesh Police has made elaborate security arrangements and along with it, security has been ensured for every road along the entire red zone, yellow zone and Ayodhya district,” Director General (DG), Law and Order, Prashant Kumar had recently said. To ensure better security arrangements at the programme venue in Ayodhya, technology is being used on a large scale. “For this, 10,000 CCTV cameras have been installed in the entire Ayodhya district. In some of these CCTV cameras, we are using AI-based technology so that we can maintain a strict vigil on commuters,” the DG said. Police personnel with multi-lingual skills will be deployed in plain clothes at the programme venue. The senior police official also said the security along the Saryu river has also been increased with the help of NDRF and SDRF teams. Ram temple consecration| Bombay HC dismisses plea challenging Maharashtra government’s decision to declare public holiday on January 22 [The Bombay High Court on January 21 rejected a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by four law students challenging the Maharashtra government’s decision to declare a public holiday on January 22]( for the Ram temple consecration in Ayodhya. The court deemed the petition “politically motivated, frivolous and vexatious”, advising the students to utilise their time more constructively. A Bench of Justices Girish Kulkarni and Neela Gokhale, which held a special hearing for the petition filed by students from Maharashtra and Gujarat, refrained from imposing the exemplary cost on the petitioners due to their age and criticised the plea’s political overtones. It said: “The petition has political overtones and it appears to be a petition that is politically motivated and a publicity interest litigation. A glare for publicity seems to be apparent from the tenor of the petition and the arguments made in the open court.” The Maharashtra government argued that declaring a holiday was an executive policy decision beyond judicial scrutiny. In their petition, Shivangi Agarwal, Satyajeet Salve, Vedant Agarwal and Khushi Bangia, claimed it was a “gross abuse of power for political purposes”, and sought that the High Court quash the government order declaring a holiday on January 22. The court said the petitioners had also questioned the wisdom of the Supreme Court in an order passed in another matter and this had shaken “our judicial conscience”. The court found the plea to be frivolous, questioning its political remarks and the premature media disclosure. “We have no doubt that this PIL has been filed for extraneous reasons. It appears to be absolutely frivolous and vexatious and does not deserve the attention of court,” the Bench said, adding that there was no doubt that such petitions were a “blatant abuse of law” and could not be kept pending. “As pointed out by the respondent [Maharashtra government], there are some statements about political agenda in the plea that are political in nature...some are very reckless statements. On whose motivation or at whose instance have those statements been included in the plea,” the Bench asked. Assam Government threatening people not to join Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, alleges Rahul Gandhi [Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on January 21 alleged that Assam’s BJP-led government has been threatening people against joining the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra]( and also refusing permissions for programmes along the route. But people are not afraid of the BJP, Gandhi claimed, addressing a public gathering at the Biswanath Chariali, the headquarters of the Biswanath district. He also said that his party will win by huge margins in the coming elections. Gandhi said, “We don’t make long speeches as part of the yatra. We travel every day for 7-8 hours, listen to your issues and our aim is to raise these issues.” He alleged that people are being threatened against joining the yatra and permission was denied to hold programmes along its routes while flags and banners of the Congress are being damaged in the State. The yatra re-entered Assam through Biswanath from Arunachal Pradesh on January 21 morning. Gandhi also continued to target Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, terming him the “most corrupt CM in the country”. [Meanwhile, Sarma said Gandhi should avoid visiting the birthplace of Srimanta Sankardeva at Batadrava on January 22]( as there can be no competition between Lord Ram and the medieval age Vaishnav saint revered as an icon in the State. Sarma said that commandos will be deployed along sensitive routes of minority-dominated areas to be taken by Gandhi on January 22, the day of the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. He can go after the consecration ceremony without creating “unnecessary competition which will be sad for Assam’‘, Sarma said. For January 22, the Congress has chosen a route through Morigaon, Jagiroad and Nellie, which could have been avoided, the Sarma said. District Commissioners and Superintendents of Police of these areas have been directed to increase patrolling and maintain a strict vigil, Sarma said. Russian private jet carrying six people believed to have crashed in Afghanistan, say officials [A Russian private jet carrying six people is believed to have crashed in a remote area of rural Afghanistan, authorities said on January 21.]( The crash happened on January 20 in a mountainous area near Zebak district in Badakhshan Province, regional spokesman Zabihullah Amiri said, adding that a rescue team had been dispatched to the area. Zebak, a rural, mountainous area, home to only several thousand people, is roughly 250 km northeast of Kabul. Badakhshan police chief’s office also confirmed the report of the crash in a statement. In Moscow, Russian civil aviation authorities said a Dassault Falcon 10 went missing with four crew members and two passengers. The Russian-registered aircraft “stopped communicating and disappeared from radar screens,” authorities said. It described the flight as starting from Thailand’s U-Tapao–Rayong–Pattaya International Airport. The plane had been operating as a charter ambulance flight on a route from Gaya, India, to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, onward to Zhukovsky International Airport in Moscow. Russian officials said the plane belongs to Athletic Group LLC. and a private individual. They also said the Falcon 10 involved in the crash had been built in 1978. Russia’s Investigative Committee later said it had opened a criminal case on charges relating to potential violations of air safety rules or negligence. Procedures call for such investigations to open over suspected crashes. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also said that the Russian Embassy in Afghanistan was working with local officials on the incident. A separate Taliban statement from Abdul Wahid Rayan, a spokesman for the Taliban’s Information and Culture Ministry, described the plane as “belonging to a Moroccan company.” Rayan blamed an “engine problem” for the crash, without elaborating. The Taliban’s chief spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said Afghan air force rescue teams were searching the area. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said the plane that crashed in Afghanistan was not an Indian carrier, as is being wrongly attributed by some sources. Tracking data from FlightRadar24 for the aircraft, analysed by the AP, showed the aircraft’s last position just south of the city of Peshawar, Pakistan, at around 1330 GMT on Jan. 20. Rajasthan High Court turns down minor rape survivor’s plea to terminate pregnancy [The Rajasthan High Court declined a plea of a 11-year-old rape survivor to terminate her 31-week pregnancy, saying a fully developed foetus also has the right to life and live a healthy life without any abnormalities.]( The court observed that any attempt to terminate the pregnancy at this advanced stage is likely to lead to a premature delivery and the same may affect the neurotic development of the unborn child. The survivor was allegedly raped by her father and filed the plea through her maternal uncle. The plea stated that the girl does not wish to give birth to such a child as it would be a constant reminder of the atrocities committed on her and would not be good for her mental health and social well being. A bench of Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand, in an order on Wednesday, said the delay by the child in approaching the court has only further aggravated the said aspect of termination of pregnancy. There is no material available on the record on the basis of which this court may differ with the opinion expressed by the medical board. “The medical board is in the opinion that abortion at such an advanced stage would endanger her life. The court observed that any attempt of termination of pregnancy at this advanced stage is likely to lead to a premature delivery and the same may affect the neurotic development of the unborn child. The fully developed foetus also has the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution of India to enter in this world and live a healthy life without any abnormalities,” the court order said. The victim’s lawyer Fatehchand Saini said the FIR was lodged by her maternal uncle against the child’s father under sections of Indian Penal Code Section 376 (rape) and sections of POCSO Act. The victim’s father is an alcoholic while mother is mentally challenged. The girl’s father had earlier this month left the daughter at the house of her maternal uncle who lodged the FIR on the survivor’s behalf, according to the plea. A case has been registered in the matter at the Shahpura police station in Jaipur Rural. Saini said the medical examination of the girl was done by a medical board, the report of which was presented in the court on January 17. The medical board stated that considering the girl’s age and weight and her deranged liver function tests, she is at high risk with regard to her pregnancy. The court also cited a 2023 Supreme Court case involving a 28-week pregnant woman, as well as two matters before the Punjab and Haryana High Court where it turned down pleas to terminate pregnancy of minor rape survivors, stating that this court has no valid reason to take a different view. Considering the case, the court said the girl can stay at a home for girls till she attains adulthood and also issued direction to the State government, police and health staff to look after the girl’s well being. The court directed the superintendent of Mahila Chikitsalya to ensure a safe delivery, to retain and preserve the tissues, cord and blood sample of foetus for the purpose of DNA test by forensic lab and hand over them to the investigating officer of the case when required. Upon birth, the child may be handed over to the Child Welfare Committee which may put him or her up for adoption in accordance with law. The court also directed the Rajasthan State Legal Services Authority (RSLSA) and the District Legal services Authority (DLSA), Jaipur, to provide compensation to the survivor under the provision of the Rajasthan Victim Compensation Scheme, 2011. In brief [Two Hezbollah fighters were killed on January 21 when an Israeli drone hit their vehicle in southern Lebanon]( security sources said. Their ranks were not revealed but a source close to the Iranian-backed group said they were not senior figures. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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