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Ayodhya: With just three days left for Vishwa Hindu Parishad's (VHP) mass rally amidst heightening tension, Uttar Pradesh government on October 14 kept up the heat, arresting 5,800 Ram bhakts heading to the temple town and deployed 100 companies of paramilitary personnel in Ayodhya and adjacent Faizabad, as the saffron outfit claimed its programme would be peaceful.

In the single biggest drive, nearly 3,000 VHP activists, mostly from South India, were arrested at Varanasi and Mughalsarai railway stations as soon as they reached there by Ratnagiri and Tirupati express trains, police sources said.

Another 2,000 VHP workers were nabbed at Badohi railway stations on October 14, the sources said. Reports of arrests came in from Jaunpur, Basti and Kanpur also.

With this, authorities have rounded up over 10,000 VHP activists since the crackdown began last week.

Security has been beefed up in and around Ramsevakpuram, the venue of the proposed VHP gathering, and two temple-building workshops run by VHP.

Ayodhya was turned into a virtual fortress, with authorities allowing movement of only those vehicles which have been issued special passes and maintaining round-the-clock vigil on the movement of vehicles and trains, which are running almost empty.

More para military forces have reached the district and 1,862 VHP activists were arrested on October 14, Kumar said.

In view of escalating tension over the VHP programme, all educational institutions have been closed from October 15 to 17 as a precautionary measure, Faizabad district magistrate Kumar said.

PTI