By Express News Service

KOCHI: Welcoming the Supreme Court verdict in the Ayodhya case, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) former regional director (North) K K Muhammed on Saturday said it will help build a strong and united India.

Muhammed was part of the team of experts which carried out the first excavation at Ayodhya in 1976-77. He came up with the finding that there was a temple at the site.

"The court accepted all the evidence submitted by the ASI that a temple existed there. As a person who had stayed at the site for nearly two months, I can vouch that no other judgement would have amicably solved the issue. The Supreme Court reached the verdict based on historical facts and evidence submitted by the ASI," he said.

"The Court has also considered the arguments of the Muslims by directing to hand over five acres of land for the community to construct a mosque. This verdict will help us build a strong and united India and all people should cooperate and work together for it," Muhammed told reporters in Kozhikode.

On the criticism he faced from various groups for his findings in Ayodhya, Muhammed said the Supreme Court's verdict has proved all his detractors wrong. "A few Left historians were targeting me. They came out with fake campaigns against me," he said.