The Times of India
17 years later, Liberhan Commission submits Babri report to PM
30 Jun 2009, 1114 hrs IST, TIMESOFINDIA.COM
NEW DELHI: Seventeen years after it was set up, the Liberhan Commission probing the 1992 demolition of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya on Tuesday submitted its report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. ( Watch )
The commission, which had got 48 extensions, submitted the report to the Prime Minister by Retd Justice M S Liberhan in presence of home minister P Chidambaram.
The contents of the report were not immediately known, PTI said.
According to Times Now, the report could reveal role of BJP's L K Advani and Bajrang Dal in Babri incidents. Report could also shed light on number of other top BJP leaders.
Justice M S Liberhan told Times Now that certain witnesses weren't non-cooperative during the probe. "The report got delayed due to uncooperative attitude of witnesses," he added.
Liberhan refused to reveal who is responsible for Babri demolition. "I won't name the people, it is mentioned in the report," he said.
"I feel liberated after submitting report," he added.
Meanwhile, political parties have begun to score points over each other over the report.
The Congress said that mere apologies by BJP leaders are not enough. The BJP claimed that Advani has been framed in the Babri case.
Set up within ten days of the demolition of the mosque on December 6, 1992, which triggered widespread communal violence leading to heavy loss of lives, the panel has become the country's longest serving Commission of Enquiry.
The commission, mandated to inquire into the circumstances leading to the demolition of the Babri mosque was to submit its report by March 16, 1993 but sought repeated extensions to complete its probe.
The last three-month extension was given in March this year.
The probe panel was one of the costliest commissions having spent nearly Rs eight crore. The bulk of the amount was spent on the salaries and perks of the supporting staff.
During the extended proceedings spread over 400 sittings, the commission recorded the statements of senior BJP leaders L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and then chief minister of Uttar Pradesh Kalyan Singh.
The panel had completed hearing the last witness in 2005.
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