A court in Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi on Monday ordered the closure of a lake in the Gyanvapi Mosque area amid reports of “Shivling” being found in it. The Varanasi court has ordered district magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma to “close the area and prevent anyone from entering the area”. In its order, the court said DM, police commissioner and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) commander Varanasi would be responsible for security in the enclosure.
The directive comes after a lawyer filed an application with civil court judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar seeking protection for the area.SMYasin, co-secretary of the AnjumanIntezamia Masjid Committee, which heads the Gyanvapi Mosque, said, “We have strictly followed the court order and fully cooperated in this studyAnd the leaked details of the research programs.”A video survey of the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi by a court-appointed team was completed on the third day Monday among detailed security plans.
The civilian court appointed a court commissioner to conduct an investigation and photograph of the area and the same was challenged before the Allahabad Supreme Court, which reversed the decision on April 21. The April 21 high court order was challenged in the high court. As of Sunday, 80 percent of the buildings were inspected in eight hours in two days, said a familiar person.
Latest updates on Gyanvapi Mosque survey:
“We have filed a petition with the Supreme Court of the Ravi Kumar Diwakar, urging that the area where the physical evidence was found during the investigation be protected. The court heard the application and ordered that the area be closed,” said Harishankar Jain, one of the lawyers who applied.
• President Ahmad Ansari, one of the lawyers for the AnjumanIntezamia Masjid Committee, said the applicants had made a misleading claim. “There is only one source in wajookhana in the Muslim area of Gyanvapi. The building that the claimants claim Shivlinga is the source. It is a misleading allegation, ”he said.
• Research work on Monday started at 8 a.m. and all stakeholders were instructed to remain present.
• Advocate Vishal Singh, an assistant special commissioner appointed by the court in Varanasi, said the investigation was conducted in a seamless manner.”We have spoken to all parties involved and have agreed that it is important to follow the court order. We have also removed the misconceptions of the people and worked to build confidence.
• On Sunday, the start of the investigation commission began at 8 a.m., said Varanasi police commissioner A Satish Ganesh. Arrangements were also made to avoid disturbing the devotees who visited the Kashi Vishwanath temple, he added.
•The survey includes video and inspection of Gyanvapi buildings in the directions of the local court hearing the application for daily worship of the ShringarGauriSthal at the Kashi Vishwanath-Gyanvapi complex.
• Volunteers were given access to the Kashi Vishwanath temple through the Dhundhi Gate of Raj Ganesh and the gate of the Ganga River. General public access is closed for four hours at Gyanvapi Integrated Gate 4.
• The study was suspended last week due to opposition from a mosque committee, which said the court-appointed advocate commissioner had no authority to film the film inside the premises.
• In his last Thursday ruling, Senior Divisional Judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar rejected a request by a mosque committee to replace Ajay Kumar Mishra, who was appointed by the court commissioner to inspect the Gyanvapi-GauriShringar.
•The judge also appointed two other lawyers to assist the court commissioner with the investigation and said it should be completed by Tuesday.
•On Tuesday, the High Court will hear an application for the withdrawal of the investigation. A bench headed by Justice DY Chandrachud will hear the application of the AnjumanIntezamiaMasajid Committee.
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