Tuesday, July 5 2005 18:30 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: The Centre today (July 5, 2005) said it had "intelligence information" about the possibility of a militant attack at religious places and areas of national importance and claimed today's swift action in Ayodhya was a result of the intelligence input.

"We had intelligence information in late May and meetings of all Directors General of Police and Chiefs of Central para-military forces were convened immediately after that," Union Home Secretary Vinod Kumar Duggal told reporters in New Delhi.

The intelligence spoke of some militant modules targeting religious places of national importance, he said.

Maintaining that no red alert had been issued in any part of the country, Duggal said the Centre has sent advisories to state Chief Secretaries to keep a close watch on "non-political and mischievous elements" who could use this incident to create communal disharmony.

Duggal, who was flanked by Director General of CRPF J K Sinha, said that the Centre had asked the States to ensure that nobody exploited the situation and tried to whip up the communal passions.

Commending the CRPF's action, he said this operation was executed with finesse and militants were not allowed to gain any further access.

Duggal parried all questions as to which militant group was involved in the incident. "We are checking and we will come out with all the facts after the inquiry is over," he said, adding, "All we can share, as of now, was that they were not locals."

He also parried a question about the religious identity of the militants as well.

Sinha later left for Ayodhya to make an on-the-spot assessment of the situation and review the security arrangements.

Sinha said the attack began at 0915 hrs (IST) when the militants detonated improvised explosive devices put in the jeep (taxi) in which they had arrived near the outer cordon of the Ram Janam Bhoomi-Babri Masjid complex.

"After getting down, the terrorist blasted the jeep. With the impact of the blast, there was complete melee and the wall adjoining the Sita Ki Rasoi had a breach through which three terrorist reportedly entered the premises," Sinha said.

Two other terrorists climbed the roof of Sita Ki Rasoi from where they started firing towards the CRPF personnel deployed on the inner cordon.

A Quick Reaction Team (QRT) of CRPF headed by Joginder Singh, second in command of the 33 battalion, rushed in and took position behind Sita Ki Rasoi, he said.

"In the co-ordinated firing of QRT and those deployed in the inner cordon, all the five terrorists spotted there were killed and five AK-47 rifles and one pistol were recovered.

"One mutilated body has also been found which suggests the presence of the sixth terrorist as a human bomb and that he could have been blown off with the impact of the firing on him," Sinha said.

Sinha said the driver of the jeep, who was commandeered by the militants, had been apprehended and was being questioned. "I am myself going there and I will also question him," he said adding the operation lasted about two hours.

In the incident, he said one sub-inspector and one head constable of CRPF sustained bullet injuries while a constable of the force sustained grenade splinter injuries. "The condition of one of them is serious," he said.

"Due to timely and prompt action by CRPF, the terrorist were eliminated before reaching the inner cordon of the complex," he said.

Giving the details of the strength of CRPF personnel posted in the inner cordon, Sinha said, "As many as 136 men were the guarding the complex." In addition to them, there were 30 women CRPF personnl and another 30 men of the Quick Reaction Team.