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    Shape of structure found in Gyanvapi Mosque appears to resemble a Shivling: report submitted to Varanasi Court

    Synopsis

    "The shape of the structure appears to resemble the general shape of a big shivling. However, on top of it, there is another round structure made of a different material containing five sections," Singh said. The report mentioned that representatives of the Anjuman Intezamia Mosque Committee said that it was a fountain.

    gyanvapiAgencies
    The next hearing has been scheduled for Monday.
    Lucknow: The shape of a structure found in the Gyanvapi mosque premises resembled a shivling, though there was another structure on top of it with five sections, special advocate commissioner Vishal Singh has said in the report on the Gyanvapi mosque videography and inspection submitted to a Varanasi court on Thursday.

    "The shape of the structure appears to resemble the general shape of a big shivling. However, on top of it, there is another round structure made of a different material containing five sections," Singh said. The report mentioned that representatives of the Anjuman Intezamia Mosque Committee said that it was a fountain, following which the cleric of the mosque was asked by representatives of the litigants to operate the fountain. The report said he could not do so and no inlet for a pipe was found on the structure. The report also mentioned that the cleric first said the fountain has been out of order for 20 years, but then changed his statement to 12 years.

    An affidavit was also submitted in the court by counsels representing the mosque administrators, who objected to litigants' plea to break open the temporary structure under the wazukhana, claiming it would lead to collapse of the mosque.

    Two reports - one of the exercise done on May 6 and 7 when it was stalled and the matter taken to court - and the other of the videography done between May 14 and 16, were submitted along with an electronic chip that contained photos and videos inside the mosque premises. A copy of the reports and the evidence will be made available to the litigants before the court invites objections from them, following which it would decide whether the report should be taken as evidence, government advocate Nityanand Rai said. Due to the SC directive to the trial court, no hearing was held on Thursday. The next hearing has been scheduled for Monday.

    Survey commissioner Ajay Kumar Mishra - who surveyed the premise outside the barricading and who was removed by the court following leaks to the media - mentioned finding '3-4 vermillion bearing sculptures' and a platform like structure outside the barricading of the western wall of the disputed site, which according to the litigants was the 'Shringar Gauri' idol and wanted the court's permission to pray. He reported he was told they were 'remains of the Shringar Gauri temple' and worshippers offer symbolical prayer to the 'remains as the main temple or its remains were inside the barricading', where entry is prohibited. This was a significant observation as the original plea which led to the survey was after a plea to pray at 'Shringar Gauri sculptures on the western wall.'

    The advocate commissioners report also said that under the three domes of the mosque, three 'conical peak-like structures' were found, which litigant representatives claimed were of an ancient temple. The mosque committee representatives rejected the claim, the report said.

    Speaking to ET, Abhay Nath Yadav, counsel representing the mosque committee, said, "our detailed objection said the Hindu side already assumed the structure to be shivling even before the commissioner filed his report and the court gave its conclusion on it. When the entire commission is complete and they signed they were satisfied with the exercise, how can they file a plea for an additional commission?" More importantly, Yadav said, "the structure demanding to be removed is just beneath the mosque and if it is removed, the entire mosque will collapse, which is what they want."



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