The 10th anniversary of the destruction of a disputed mosque in northern India passed Friday without religious violence or militant attacks that authorities had feared.
Tens of thousands of armed security personnel went on high alert across India, while police paid special attention to Gujarat state -- the scene of deadly religious rioting earlier this year. Authorities in Gujarat enforced a ban on public rallies to prevent any religious violence.
The anniversary of the destruction of the Babri Mosque in the northern city of Ayodhya coincided this year with the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr -- the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
The 1992 rampage by Hindu militants that destroyed the 16th century mosque triggered communal riots that left more than three-thousand people dead.
Hindu hard-liners have since proposed building a temple to the god-king Rama at the site of the mosque, saying a Moghul emperor built the mosque after razing a shrine to king Rama. Minority Muslims dispute the claim.
The presence of additional security was also reported in Bombay, where two people were killed Monday after a bomb went off on a commuter bus.
In related developments, Bombay police say an explosion thought to be a terrorist attack on a McDonald's restaurant in the city's main train station was an accident triggered by a faulty air conditioner. Twelve people were injured in the blast -- three of them critically.