Muslims leave after offering the Friday prayers, at Gyanvapi Masjid in Varanasi, Friday, May 13, 2022.
Highlights
- The Gyanvapi Masjid is located close to the iconic Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi
- A Shivling was found during a court-mandated survey at the pond of Gyanvapi Masjid
- The court then directed that the area where the Shivling was found should be sealed
Gyanvapi Masjid News: The commission tasked with the videography survey of the Gyanvapi Masjid complex in Varanasi has sought two days more time from a local court to submit its report. The court had earlier asked the commission to submit the report by Tuesday.
Special Commissioner Advocate Vishal Singh informed the court that survey of the mosque was completed on Monday but the team needs two days more to finalise the report.
According to Assistant Advocate Commissioner, Ajay Pratap Singh, around 50 per cent of the report is ready. "This is because we did not get time (to compile the report)," he said.
Singh said during the three-day survey from May 14 to 16, underground rooms were surveyed and locks of rooms for which keys were not available broken.
"Open as well as closed 'taikhanas' (underground rooms) were surveyed, and locks of 'taikhanas', whose keys were not found, were broken by the district administration. They were videographed and photographed," he said.
Singh didn't comment about the 'wazookhana' in the mosque complex. He, however, said that "definitely there was something due to which the Hindu side made a claim on it and the court gave its orders after taking cognizance of it".
A local court on Monday had ordered the sealing of a pond in the Gyanvapi Masjid complex after lawyers representing the Hindu petitioners said a Shivling was found there during the court-mandated videography survey. However, a mosque management committee member disputed the claim, saying the object was part of the water fountain mechanism at the wazookhana reservoir where devotees carry out ablutions before offering namaz.
