Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police OP Singh has said that those who create trouble ahead of the Supreme Court’s Ayodhya verdict will be booked under the National Security Act if needed, IANS reported.

“We are absolutely ready,” the state police chief said. “Under no circumstances, will anybody be allowed to take law in their hands. Our intelligence machinery is geared up. If needed, the National Security Act will be imposed on elements who attempt to disrupt law and order.”

Singh said social media platforms were being closely monitored by a team of officials and police would act against objectionable posts.

A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi reserved its judgment on October 16 after a marathon 40-day hearing. The top court had allowed all parties to the case to make the rest of the submissions in writing. The verdict is expected before Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi retires on November 17.

The Bharatiya Janata Party and its ideological parent, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, have long demanded the construction of a Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya, where the Babri Masjid stood until it was razed to the ground in December 1992.

In anticipation of the judgement, restrictive orders under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which bans the assembly of more than four people, were imposed in Ayodhya earlier this month. They will be in place till December 10. The Uttar Pradesh government has cancelled the holidays of all field officers in the state’s 75 districts till November 30.

Scroll.in’s coverage of the Ayodhya dispute can be followed here and here.

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