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About 8000 policemen will be deployed in Ayodhya on Sunday where about 20,000 devotees are expected to participate in the closing ceremony of the 100-day long 'purna ahuti yagya' (religious ritual), which had begun in February.
The security personnel include about 3500 para-military personnel, including the Rapid Action Force.
"These deployments are being made not merely to regulate the crowds, but to also prevent any strike by Kashmiri militants who plan to target Ayodhya," Faizabad Divisional Commissioner J S Deepak told rediff.com.
"We have received specific intelligence inputs about the possibility of a terrorist strike at a time when there is a major congregation of prominent VHP leaders in Ayodhya," Deepak said.
Those who have already arrived in Ayodhya included VHP chief Ashok Singhal, VHP international general secretary Dr Praveenbhai Togadia and joint general secretary Acharya Giriraj Kishore and several sadhus.
Kishore is understood to have met Chief Minister Mayawati in Lucknow before reaching Ayodhya to discuss the security scenario.
"Though we have not banned movement of people in Ayodhya this time, security is going to be very strict and one would have to go through a little more frisking than usual," Deepak said.
"We will allow devotees to visit the makeshift temple (in the disputed area) in small batches within the usual visiting hours," he said.
Meanwhile, movement of vehicles within 1.5 km of the venue of the 'yagya' has been banned.
The administration is fully geared up to regulate a crowd of 20,000, but "We do not expect the crowd to swell beyond 10-15,000," senior home department officials said.
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