Ayodhya, March 9
The assurance given by Minister of State for Home Affairs I.D. Swami here yesterday about relaxation in security arrangements fell flat with no let up in security arrangements coming about here today.

The district administration insisted that there won’t be any relief till instructions in this regard were communicated to them in black and white.

Even as the local people were forced to put up with checks and search operations by the para-military forces deployed here, there was a lot of confusion over reports of the Uttar Pradesh administration requesting Defence Minister George Fernandes for the deployment of the Army in this temple town ahead of the March 15 deadline given by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) to shift carved pillars to undisputed land for the construction of Ram temple.

While Faizabad district Magistrate B.P. Mishra refused to say anything about the security arrangements, District Commissioner Anil Kumar Gupta clarified that so far there was no relaxation in the security arrangements made by the administration.

On February 28 the district administration was asked by the Central as well as the state governments to prevent any kind of build up in Ayodhya and prevent any attempt to disturb the status quo at the disputed site.

Following this order, the District Magistrate imposed Section 144 CrPC here and necessary security arrangements were made and same arrangements were still continuing, Mr Gupta said.

When his attention was drawn to the announcement made by Mr Swami, who paid a visit here yesterday to assess the situation, that some relaxation would be made and trains to Ayodhya would be resumed, Mr Gupta said, “I can’t comment on what the Minister stated.”

“We have not got any written instruction for any kind of relaxation in the present security arrangements”, he said.

Mr Swami had said there would be some relaxation in security arrangements to help the local people, who were inconvenienced due to the restrictions imposed, and some trains to Ayodhya would be resumed.

Asked about the possibility of the deployment of the Army in Ayodhya, Mr Gupta said the District Magistrate had through a letter dated March 5 had asked the Army to remain on alert, if it was needed at some point of time.

He did not ask for the deployment of the Army, but merely requested it to remain alert, Mr Gupta said, adding that I don’t think such a situation would arise as we had adequate deployment of central forces besides the local police.

On the resumption of train services to Ayodhya, Mr Gupta said neither he nor the Northern Railways officials had any intimation about the resumption of train services.

As the March 15 deadline is fast approaching, the district administration has further tightened the security arrangements. Crack commandoes, mounted police and riot police have been deployed at all strategic points and even the vehicles in which journalists are moving in the city are being searched by the security personnel.

Assuring that the culprits responsible for the violence in Godhra or elsewhere in the state , would be brought to justice, the Prime Minister said: “What has happened in Gujarat has sullied the reputation of India in the world”.