Rae Bareilly (Uttar Pradesh), Mar 25 (ANI): Senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Anju Gupta, who is on deputation with the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) in Delhi might record her testimony as a witness for the prosecution against senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Lal Krishna Advani and other Sangh Parivar leaders in a Rae Bareilly court on Friday.

Gupta was posted as Advani’s personal security officer during the period when the BJP was bringing its supporters to Ayodhya for ‘kar seva’ at the mosque, claimed by the Sangh Parivar to be the birthplace of Lord Rama.

Immediately after the riots in 1993, Gupta had told the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) how Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti and the rest had expressed delight.

CBI Director Ashwani Kumar had reportedly written to Cabinet Secretary K Chandrashekhar urging him to release Gupta for the important hearing on the Babri Mosque demolition case.

A special Ayodhya court in Rae Bareilly had earlier discharged Advani on the plea that charges against him were based on mere suspicion. The CBI dropped the charge of criminal conspiracy - Section 120 B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) - in its revised charge sheet submitted before the Rae Bareilly court on the directives of the Allahabad High Court.

The revised chargesheet contained relatively milder sections under the Indian Penal Code - Sections 153-A, 153-B (propagating communal violence), 147, 149 (rioting) and 505 (spreading ill-will). This was believed to be the result of CBI’s failure to press the charges strongly. (ANI)