Friday, July 8 2005 14:44 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Alerted by Tuesday's (July 5, 2005) terrorist attack at the makeshift temple in Ayodhya, authorities have decided to augment and "reorient" the security arrangements at the disputed site and other parts of the holy town.

Construction of additional concrete barricades, lighting up of the area, deployment of security personnel on the peripheries of the disputed site and random checking of vehicles and pedestrians in Ayodhya town; are among the measures to be put in place, official sources told here today.

"The security arrangements around the disputed site so far have been made with a view of preventing any mob attack like that witnessed on December 6,1992. This needs to be reoriented in view of Tuesday's incident," they said.

The sources said after a review of the security arrangements it was decided that protective measures should be such, which are capable of preventing a "sneak attack" like that was tried on Tuesday by heavily armed terrorists.

CRPF to deploy more personnel

In this direction, CRPF will deploy more personnel and Quick Reaction Teams (QRTs) at the venue and position its personnel at vantage points around the outer barricade of the disputed site, they said.

This is aimed at stopping any terrorist from even breaching the outer barricade, they said. When contacted, CRPF Director General J K Sinha said, "some lacunae" were found in the context of facing a terrorist attack and steps are being initiated to correct these immediately.

He refused to spell out the lacunae or the measures to be taken to rectify these. Sinha, who rushed to the site within hours of the terror attack, appreciated the alertness and stealth displayed by the personnel of his force in preventing the terrorists from advancing towards the makeshift temple . "It was only because of the strong second cordon that the terrorists were unable to advance much and were neutralised," the CRPF chief said, while noting that the attackers had come well prepared for a major strike.

Security agencies have raised questions over the security arrangements within Ayodhya, pointing out that the terrorists roamed about in the town along with huge armoury without being detected.

Considering that the jeep used in the Tuesday's attack had a flag of a political party on it, a decision has been taken to clamp down on unauthorised use of beacon lights and flags on vehicles, the sources said. "It has been felt that the jeep might have got easy thorough fare because of the flag," they said