Security has been tightened in several Indian states for the sixth anniversary today Sunday of the destruction of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya, in Uttar Pradesh.

Many hundreds of people have been taken into precautionary detention.

The mosque's demolition by Hindu fundamentalists sparked some of India's worst religious violence.

Last year's anniversary was marked by bomb attacks in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, and there too security has been stepped up considerably, with many young Moslems detained.