A Muslim plaintiff in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case has complained to Ayodhya police against two persons, including a woman, alleging they threatened to kill him if he didn’t withdraw from the dispute.

“A woman, who identified herself as Vartika Singh, came to my house in Ayodhya on Tuesday afternoon along with a man and asked me to withdraw from the case. She said I would be killed if I didn’t obey her,” Iqbal Ansari told The Telegraph. “When I expressed my inability to follow her command, she assaulted me. The man was only standing there in her support.”

Vartika, a resident of Pratapgarh, 120km from Ayodhya, and a former shooter, said: “I came here to offer prayers in (the makeshift) Ram temple. Being an international shooter and a citizen, I talked to many people about the problems here. I also went to Ansari’s house…. We were discussing the Ram temple and triple talaq-related issues when he started using objectionable language against me,” she told reporters.

Vijay Pal Singh, SP of Ayodhya town, said the police detained the woman and the man, identified as Prabhu Dayal Singh, her cousin, but no FIR had been registered. The two were released later.