Chennai: Thousands of protestors, both Hindus and Muslims, demanding construction of a Ram temple or handing over of the disputed site in Ayodhya, were arrested in Tamil Nadu Saturday on the 16th anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition, police said.

"Over 500 volunteers of several saffron organisations, including the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Hindu Front, staged demonstrations in many temple cities in the state demanding the creation of the Ram temple (at the disputed site) and courted arrest," a police spokesman said. Some 5,000 volunteers and leaders of Tawheed Jamaat and Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam were held in the Tamil Nadu capital, the spokesman said. The Muslim protestors tried to demonstrate near the Raj Bhavan here and stop rail traffic. They were demanding handover of the disputed Babri Masjid site to Muslims and arrest of those who demolished the mosque Dec 6,1992.

The overall situation in the state, except for these protests, was peaceful, director general of police K. P. Jain told IANS. "Our commandos, officials and personnel posted in all vulnerable points including temples, mosques, railway, bus and air terminals carried out orders to prevent violence. "But for the arrest of slogan-shouting volunteers from Hindu and Muslim organisations during peaceful demonstrations, there were no untoward incidents," Jain said.

Source : IANS