Cops to scan Ayodhya homes, visitors

Nearly a fortnight after the Ayodhya attack, UP police has been asked to conduct to a regular census of buildings and people around the disputed temple site. Each house, and its residents, will be identified and a detailed family record maintained at local police stations, according to Faizabad Police Commissioner Arun Kumar Sinha. ‘‘New persons visiting these houses will have to report at the nearby police station first,’’ he said.

This decision was taken by UP’s standing committee on security—set up in 1994—which visited Ayodhya on Saturday. The panel includes Additional Director General (Security) and the DIGs, SSPs and DMs of the respective districts, apart from the CRPF IG and a Joint Director from the Intelligence Bureau. The committee is supposed to visit and review security in Ayodhya, Varanasi and Mathura every 90 days—its last visit to Ayodhya was on April 14.

The committee will submit a detailed report to the state on July 25, which would be screened by experts from the Centre. The final security plan may be finalised in the first week of August, sources said.

‘‘A record of each and every occupant will be maintained and registered at the local police station,’’ said Sinha. He added that the administration would be extra vigilant during the Sawan Mela next month.