Ayodhya verdict: Security tightened across U.P; schools-colleges shut

The long wait for the Ayodhya case verdict will come to an end on Saturday. According to the information given by the additional registrar of the Supreme Court, the apex court will be delivering its final verdict on November 9 at 10:30 am.

Ahead of the verdict, security in Ayodhya has been beefed up. So far, 18,000 state police personnel, 3,000 state Rapid Action Force staff, and 4,000 Central troops have been deployed in Ayodhya to maintain law and order. Sources suggest that the forces have been directed by the Uttar Pradesh government to ensure that nobody is allowed to spread any communal message, including political and religious leaders within the State.

According to sources, State Chief Secretary and UP DGP themselves will be on ground zero to monitor the situation. The District Magistrate will be taking an hourly update directly from the Chief Minister's Office. The affected district and the neighboring 3 districts will be in a lockdown position. Moreover, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will remain in a 'ready to move' position. Apart from this, nine helicopters have been made available for urgent movement basis as part of the security arrangements and three separate choppers will be present for aerial monitoring. Drones will also be used in sensitive areas to monitor any spurious activity.

The Uttar Pradesh Government ahead of the verdict has declared that all schools, colleges, and training centres will be shut from November 9 to November 11.

READ | MASSIVE: Supreme Court to pronounce Ayodhya case verdict on Saturday

CJI meets Uttar Pradesh DGP and Chief Secretary

The Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi today called upon the top officials from Uttar Pradesh before the Supreme Court to review the preparedness of the State ahead of the verdict. In a meeting that started around noon and lasted a little over an hour, the Chief Secretary and the DGP of Uttar Pradesh briefed the Chief Justice on the steps taken by the UP government and the UP police to ensure law and order is maintained in the State before and after the Supreme Court decision comes.

READ | ADG speaks about Security Arrangements in Ayodhya ahead of SC verdict

SC Development

The Ayodhya land dispute, which is one of the longest standing legal battles the country has seen, is expected to have large scale communal ramifications irrespective of which side the verdict favors. Various security prevention and other arrangements have been made to ensure peace and harmony in the country once the verdict is pronounced tomorrow. Section 144 has been already been imposed by the state in Kanpur, Bhopal, and Nagpur. A five-judge constitution bench had been hearing day-to-day arguments in the case that lasted 40 days. The final verdict was reserved by the Supreme Court on October 16.

READ | UP DGP & Chief Secretary brief CJI Gogoi ahead of the Ayodhya verdict

READ | CJI Ranjan Gogoi meets top UP officials ahead of Ayodhya verdict