Kar sevaks off to Ayodhya, Gujarat cops on their toes

Sources said the trains carrying kar sevaks will pull up at platform number 3, instead of platform No 1 where the Sabarmati Express train was attacked on February 27 last year. The mob that attacked the S-6 and S-7 coaches of the Sabarmati Express had allegedly come from a colony close to platform No 1.

Armed with Intelligence reports that kar sevaks are likely to go to Ayodhya on trains, authorities have decided to take extra precautions when the trains pass through Godhra.

While the Railway Police will concentrate on security only inside the Godhra railway station, the local police will be posted on the road along the station that divides Signal Falia and Polan Bazar. Besides 62 railway policemen, 25 SRP personnel will be posted within the premises of the Godhra station.

A PSI and 13 constables will travel on each of the trains till they leave Gujarat. Once the train leaves a station, authorities will pass on the information about the kar sevaks to their counterparts at the next station.

When asked about the low turnout of kar sevaks, Bajrang Dal leader Ranchod Rabari said: ‘‘More are to come. The number would be somewhere around 2,000.’’ Amid slogans urging people to join the activists to show the strength of the Hindus, the group only grew larger.