Tags:
Journalism of Courage
There were definite intelligence inputs that an attempt could be made to harm the Babri Masjid on December 6,1992,IPS officer Anju Gupta told the special CBI court in Rae Bareli on Friday.
During the cross-examination by the defence that lasted more than two hours,Gupta prosecution witness number 9 in the Babri demolition case said according to the intelligence inputs shared at a review meeting convened by Inspector General of Police A K Saran on December 5,1992,the threats discussed were of two levels kar sevaks and ISI men.
More threats were from kar sevaks, said Gupta,a 1990 batch IPS officer,who was then Assistant Superintendent of Police in Faizabad and deputed as a personal security officer of former deputy prime minister L K Advani.
A key witness in the Babri Masjid demolition case,Gupta was dubbed as highly intelligent and educated witness by defence counsel Hari Dutt Sharma. There were only minor contradictions and omissions in her statements given to the CB CID and to the court on March 26.
She also faced personal questions regarding her deputation to the Centre and vehemently denied that it had anything to do with her statements in the court last month.
A DIG-rank officer posted as Director,in the Cabinet Secretariat,in the Home Ministry,Gupta informed the court that she joined the present posting in October 2009 and her husband Shafi Hasan Rizvi was also on deputation to the Centre and posted as OSD to the Home Minister.
On the defence argument that her statement given in court that Advani wanted to bring people down from the dome did not match with what she told the CB CID,Gupta stuck to her statements given in the court.
