Banaras: Extremists in India sealed the premises of the ancient Gyan Vapi Mosque in the city of Banaras, claiming that the symbol of the Hindu god Shiva, Shivling, was recovered from the ablution room during a survey.
According to the International News Agency, an Indian court, at the request of a Hindu extremist, ordered to seal the ablution room of the historic Gyan Vapi Mosque in Banaras, which was immediately implemented.
Raees Ansari, a lawyer for the Banaras Mosques Association, confirmed the sealing of the ablution room at the Gyan Vapi Mosque and filed a petition seeking a stay on the court's decision.
Extremist Hindus claim that the Gyan Vapi mosque was replaced by the temple of Lord Shiva, which was demolished by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.
The campaign to rebuild this mosque has been going on for decades which has been strengthened during the Modi government.
The local administration of the mosque conducted a survey during which a metal object was found which the extremist Hindus referred to the court as Shivling, a sacred symbol attributed to Lord Shiva, on which the court ordered closure of the ablution room.
On the other hand, the Muslim Personal Law Board, a representative body of Muslims in India, termed the claims of extremist Hindus as baseless and said that the metal object found in the ablution room was nothing but an old fountain.
A spokesman for the Muslim Personal Law Board added that in 1937, a local court, in the light of oral evidence and documents, had declared the entire area of Din Muhammad v. State Secretary Mania lands to be the property of Muslim Waqf and the court had also ruled that the disputed How much of the land is a mosque and how much is a temple and at the same time the ablution house was recognized as the property of the mosque.
