2005 attack on Ayodhya
On July 5 2005, five militants attacked the disputed Ram Janmabhumi, in Ayodhya, India. All five were shot down in the ensuing gunfight with the security forces guarding the area while one civilian died in the bomb blast triggered by the fighters to breach the cordon wall. Security forces suffered three casualties, of which two were seriously injured.
Attack Operation
The Muslim militants are believed to be from the organization Lashkar-e-Toiba, and are believed to have entered India through Nepal. They posed as pilgrims to Ayodhya and boarded into a Tata sumo at Akbarpur near the Kichaucha village in Faizabad. At Faizabad they abandoned the Sumo and hired a jeep driven by a driver, Rehan Alam. According to a statement by the driver, the militants visited the Ram Temple at Ayodhya where they prayed, possibly to reinforce that they indeed were pilgrims. The militants then drove the jeep into the Ram Janmabhumi and forced the driver out of the vehicle, banging the jeep against the security cordon. At 9:05 am they triggered a blast to breach the cordon fence. Ramesh Pandey, a pilgrim guide who happened to be near the site at this moment, died as a result of the bomb blast. Firing indiscriminately, the attackers entered Sita Rasoi. Returning the gunfire the CRPF killed all five of the fighters in a gunfight that lasted for over an hour. All the fighters died 100 meters from the site which remained unaffected in the attack.
Post Attack
Most of India's political organizations condemned the attack as barbaric and requested people to maintain law and order. RSS, VHP and BJP declared an India-wide protest and bandh on July 8, 2005. BJP president L.K. Advani called for a review of anti-terror law POTA in the wake of the attack.
The driver of the jeep which drove the militants to their destination, Rehan Alam, was detained by the police for further investigations. A local undertaker Mohammed Sharief buried the fighters according to Islamic customs.