Ahead of the much-awaited Supreme Court verdict in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute case, the Railway police has issued a seven-page advisory to all its zones on the security preparedness. The advisory covers areas like security on platforms, stations, yards, parking space, bridges and tunnels.
The Railway Protection Force (RPF) has cancelled leaves of its personnel and additional staff would be engaged to escort trains.
The advisory has earmarked all potential hotspots which could either be a site for any violence or could be used to hide explosives. It said a close watch should be kept on religious structures near and within railway stations as they might become "flash points" of violence.
The RPF has identified 78 major railway stations with high footfall for heightened security, including stations in Mumbai, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. All zones have been asked to repair their baggage scanners, CCTV cameras and keep a constant watch on crowded portions like lobbies and waiting areas.
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Meanwhile, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has also dispatched around 4,000 paramilitary personnel for security deployment in Uttar Pradesh, particularly in Ayodhya.
The Uttar Pradesh government is also continuing its preparations to maintain law and order before and after the verdict.
Ayodhya district administration has already imposed a ban on inflammatory social media posts related to the case. The ban will be in force until December 28.
The Supreme Court is likely to deliver its verdict in the politically-sensitive case before Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi retires on November 17.
A five-judge Constitution bench, led by the CJI, reserved its verdict in the Ayodhya land dispute case on October 16 after a marathon 40-day hearing.
Fourteen appeals had been filed in the apex court against the 2010 Allahabad High Court judgment, delivered in four civil suits, that the 2.77-acre land in Ayodhya be partitioned equally among three parties—the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla.
The apex court on August 6 had started day-to-day proceedings in the case after the earlier mediation process to resolve the dispute had failed.
With inputs from PTI
