The city roads wore a near-deserted look in the afternoon, but people started coming out of their homes after the Allahabad high court passed its judgment.
Cautious, but peaceful. That was Bangalore on Thursday, the day on which the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court passed its judgment on the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi title dispute.
Director-general of police Ajai Kumar Singh said the judgment day passed by without any untoward incidents in the state.
Thursday morning began as usual in the city, with commercial establishments doing business, and office-goers hurrying to beat the city traffic and reach their places of work on time. MG Road, Brigade Road and Commercial Street bustled with activities.
Police pickets were seen at several places across the city. But the general mood was palpable: enough is enough. A piece of overheard conversation at a roadside tea stall echoed the general sentiment.
“We have gone through enough pain and now it is time to sit back and accept whatever comes our way,” an unidentified man said in between sipping tea.
The roads experienced the normal evening rush around 1 pm, as almost all offices had declared a half-day off. Once the rush was over, the roads wore a near-deserted look, with most shops downing shutters. Dr PS Murthy, consultant psychiatrist at the Manipal Hospital, said fear psychosis forced people to stay indoors.
Meanwhile, the police deployed 18,000 personnel across the city, besides 30 platoons of Karnataka State Reserve Police, 15 platoons of home guards and paramilitary men. The police also conducted flag marches in Shivaji Nagar and Tilak Nagar areas.
In Thilaknagar, RT Nagar, East Bangalore and South Bangalore, members of different religious communities came forward to help the police maintain law and order.
Several commercial establishments reopened after the verdict was out.
Police chief Singh said several persons with criminal antecedents voluntarily surrendered before the police in Belgaum, Mangalore and Mysore. They had been arrested previously in connection with communal clashes.
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