Indian police have arrested more than 2,000 Hindu activists to prevent them from holding a major rally at a controversial religious site fought over by Hindus and Muslims.
Thousands of Hindus are trying to enter the town of Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh, where they plan to march this Friday, demanding that a temple be built at the site of an ancient mosque.
Hindu zealots tore down Ayodhya's Babri mosque in 1992 - triggering a year of violence that killed 2,000 people across India.
A ban has been imposed on public gatherings to stop a repeat of the violence, but rally organisers Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) have vowed to press ahead.
"Over 300,000 people from all over the country are expected to attend the meeting," said senior VHP official Prabhu Narain Singh.
Police were said to have rounded up Hindus at railway stations and bus stands across the state on Saturday.
'Mistreatment'
Trains going to Ayodhya have been cancelled or diverted, heavy vehicles stopped and local borders sealed to prevent protesters reaching the site, said officials.
"They would be sent back to their homes and police would ensure that people do not reach Ayodhya for the proposed meeting," said the state's Chief Secretary Akhand Pratap Singh.
Hindu leaders accused the police of mistreating detainees.
"[They] were forcibly disembarked from the train and were taken to makeshift prisons," said Hindu nationalist leader Ved Prakash Sachan.
"They were denied food and women were forced to sleep in the open."
Among those arrested are said to be two lawmakers of the right-wing Shiv Sena party, which is part of India's ruling coalition government.
Local leaders and the judiciary are calling for Friday's rally to be blocked.
The chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Mulayam Singh Yadav, has asked the prime minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, to make sure Friday's march does not go ahead.
On Friday, Uttar Pradesh's High Court - currently hearing the dispute over the site - ordered the state government to ban any religious activity near Ayodhya.
The VHP is expected to hold a press conference on Monday to repeat its claims over the Ayodhya site.
Hindu activists are campaigning for a temple honouring one of their most revered deities, Lord Rama - to replace the temple they believe once stood on the site.
Muslims say there is no proof of a previous Hindu temple and oppose the plans.