Fifteen years after the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, a Central Bureau of Investigations court in Rae Bareli on Wednesday commenced the trial of the case in which senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani and seven Sangh Parivar leaders are accused.

The CBI said that the first witness, who deposed before the special judge, verified the FIR lodged against Advani and others for allegedly giving provocative slogans.

Hanuman [Images] Prasad, assistant sub-inspector of the Uttar Pradesh police, told the court, "We prepared the FIR on the basis of the complaint of Ganga Prasad Tiwary, the then Chowki in-charge of the police station at Ram Janma Bhoomi, Ayodhya, on December 6, 1992, the day the medieval structure was razed to the ground". Prasad, who was then the munshi at the police station, verified that he had written the FIR.

Besides Advani, senior BJP leaders Murli Manohar Joshi and Vinay Katiyar, Bharatiya Janshakti Party chief Uma Bharti and Vishwa Hindu Parishad leaders Ashok Singhal, Giriraj Kishore, Vishnu Hari Dalmia and Sadhvi Rithambra are the accused in the case.

Interestingly the controversial case begins when Advani and his colleagues are engaged in campaigning for the Gujarat assembly elections.

In his deposition, Prasad said that he prepared the FIR of crime number 198/92 regarding provocative slogans shouted by Advani and the seven others on the basis of information given to him by Tiwari.

He also verified in court his own handwriting and that of Ganga Prasad Tiwari, who died during the course of the investigations.

The second witness, R K Swamy, the then deputy commander with the Central Reserve Police Force, who was also posted in Ayodhya, could not be examined due to paucity of time. The same will be done on December 13.