New Delhi, September 30: Twenty-eight years after the demolition of the Babri Masjid by thousands of 'karsevaks' at Ayodhya, a CBI special court on Wednesday acquitted all the thirty-two accused in the case. Political leaders including L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Umar Bharti were acquitted, citing lack of evidence.

Of the 49 accused, 32 are alive today. Sakshi Maharaj, Sadhvi Ritambahra, Vinay Katiyar, Dharamdas, Vedanti, Lallu Singh, Champat Rai, and Pawan Pandey were also among the accused were also acquitted today. The other accused include Unnao MP Sakshi Maharaj, Faizabad MP Lallu Singh, Gonda MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, Vinay Katiyar, and Sadhvi Ritambhara. Babri Masjid Demolition Case Verdict: All 32 Accused Including LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Kalyan Singh, Uma Bharti Acquitted by Special CBI Court in Lucknow.

While Advani, Joshi, and co-accused Nritya Gopal Das are above 80 years of age Bharti and another accused, Satish Pardhan, are in hospital. Uma Bharti was found COVID-19 positive and was admitted to a hospital while Kalyan Singh was also hospitalised after testing positive for coronavirus.

The verdict comes nearly 30 years after the structure was razed by a mob in Uttar Pradesh, leading to communal riots.  Bal Thackeray, Ashok Singhal, Mahant Avaidyanath, Giriraj Kishore and Vijayaraje Scindia passed away during the course of the trial.

Ahead of the verdict in the Babri Masjid demolition case, security was tightened around the special CBI court in Lucknow. Among the 32 surviving accused persons in the Babri Masjid demolition case, 26 reached the CBI court for the verdict.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 30, 2020 01:33 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).