2005 Ayodhya terror attack case: 4 convicted, 1 acquitted

Prayagraj: A special court in Prayagraj on Tuesday convicted four accused in the conspiracy behind the 2005 Ayodhya terror attack case that had caused death of two civilians, and sentenced them to life imprisonment.

The fifth accused, Mohammad Aziz, was acquitted in the verdict which took 14 years to come by.

All the accused are presently lodged in the Naini Central Jail in Prayagraj.

On July 5, 2005, a terrorist had carried out a suicide bombing attempt, breaching the security of the makeshift Ram temple. Five terrorists subsequently attempted to attack the 'Sita Rasoi'. 

All the five terrorists were later gunned down by the Central Reserve Police Force personnel in an hour long encounter. Two civilians Ramesh Pandey and Shanti Devi were also killed in the cross fire.

Seven CRPF personnel were also injured in the encounter, three of them seriously.

Special judge Dinesh Chand said that those involved in the conspiracy behind the 2005 attack were equally guilty as those who actually carried out the attack.

The four accused had provided logistic and material support to the terrorists, who were Jaish-e-Mohammad operatives.

Here is the sequence of events: 

• A group of terrorists tried to attack the makeshift Ram temple in Ayodhya on July 5, 2005.
• The terrorists, who posed as pilgrims, even prayed at the makeshift temple before returning later in a hired jeep, which they exploded near the boundary of the disputed area near the 'Sita ki Rasoi' while one of them blew himself up in a bid to breach the security barricade.
• The terrorists even used a rocket launcher to fire at the makeshift temple.
• Security forces reacted and gunned down the five terrorists in a gunfight that lasted over an hour.
• Two civilians were also killed in the cross-fire, while seven security personnel were injured.
• Investigation linked the accused to Pakistani-based terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammad
• Five people - four from Jammu and Kashmir and one from Uttar Pradesh -- connected with the terror attack were arrested in July 2005 on the basis of technical surveillance.
• A special court in Prayagraj sentenced four of them - Irfan, Mohammed Shakil, Mohammed Nafees and Asif Iqbal - to life imprisonment but acquitted Mohammed Aziz citing lack of evidence.