Lucknow: In a new twist to the Babri Masjid demolition case, five accused on June 7 alleged they had pulled down the disputed structure at Ayodhya at the instigation of L K Advani and other senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, a charge denied by the lawyer of the Deputy Prime Minister.

The five, Vinod Vatsa, Santosh, R C Khatri, Amar Nath Goyal and R N Das -- made the allegation while speaking to reporters outside the special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court hearing the case.

They alleged that the VIP accused had got their case separated by "exerting influence" and demanded that all accused should be treated at par as far as the trial was concerned.

Denying the charge, the Deputy Prime Minister's lawyer Satyapal Jain said in Chandigarh "there is no evidence against Advani and the allegation seems to be tutored against him".

"I think there seems to be some mischief somewhere. Otherwise there is no evidence and the credentials of these people who are now saying this is yet to be established", he said.

Jain said it appeared that "there are some people who might have been instigated by certain people to say something against Advani".

He said so far as the evidence before the Liberhann Commission of inquiry is concerned, no leader, no witness and no CBI official has said that there is any direct evidence against Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharati.

"I think in the court also till date no witness has said that they did anything at the asking of Uma Bharati or Advani or Joshi", he said.

One of the accused R N Das was the priest of the sanctum-sanctorum of the temple inside the then Babri Masjid where offerings and prayers continued for years following opening of the locks on court order.

The five accused expressed resentment at "being discriminated against those enjoying power" and on whose instigation they had demolished the disputed structure on December 6, 1992.

PTI