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Journalism of Courage
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 30: The term of the Liberhans Commission, probing into the sequence of events leading to the demolition of Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid structure at Ayodhya, has been extended by another six months.
According to a Government notification, the commission will now submit its report on or before June 30 next year. The commission, which has so far examined 130 witnesses, was given the extension as it has to examine several other witnesses, the notification said.
The Liberhans commission on Thursday issued summons to former Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary V K Saxena to depose as a witness before it. Justice Manmohan Singh Liberhans, who is heading the commission, issued summons to Saxena asking him to appear before it on January 31–the next date of hearing.
The commission, which had recorded the statement of former Faizabad additional superintendent of police Akhilesh Mehrotra, examined him for the second time on the issues relating to deployment of force in the city at the time of demolition of the structure on December 6, 1992.
Mehrotra said adequate police personnel were posted in the city to maintain law and order but they had no control over the disputed complex as it was under the vigil of the CRPF. Mehrotra denied having any knowledge of the involvement of local “rowdy” elements in the demolition.
Former additional DGP (Intelligence) S N P Sinha had stoutly defended his department earlier telling the commission that there was absolutely no intelligence failure regarding the demolition.
