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The Varanasi administration executed the directives of the district court, allowing pooja in ‘Vyas Ji ka Tehkhana’ in the southern part of the Gyanvapi complex on Thursday morning. This action comes after a recent court order upheld the right to conduct religious rituals in the historical site.
A priest conducted the pooja around 3 am, followed by an aarti.
Prior to the commencement of the pooja, Varanasi’s District Magistrate, S Rajalingam, and Commissioner of Police, Ashok Mutha Jain, convened a meeting around midnight. Lasting for approximately two hours, the meeting was convened at a hall within the Kashi Vishwanath Dham premises.
Following deliberations, the district administration took steps to facilitate the implementation of the court’s decision.
A passage was cleared within the barricades to allow smooth access to the southern cellar, ensuring the unhindered observance of the pooja rituals in the southern cellar.
Rajalingam said that the barricading has been removed and the court order has been followed.
Visuals showed excited devotee expressing their happiness in offering prayers at the Gyanvapi mosque complex.
“We saw the Nandi bull. We have been waiting since yesterday to offer prayers. The temple should be built. We are very happy after offering prayers,” one of the devotees who came outside the complex after offering prayers told ANI.
Meanwhile, security has been tightened around the Gyanvapi complex.
The Varanasi district court on Wednesday allowed Hindu worshippers to pray in one of the cellars in the basement of the Gyanvapi complex.
The Gyanvapi mosque – built in the 17th century by the Mughal Empire – is one of several Islamic houses of worship that Hindu activists have sought for decades to reclaim for their religion.
It was built in the 17th century by the Mughal Empire in a city where Hindu faithful from across the country cremate their loved ones by the Ganges river.
The mosque complex has four ‘tehkhanas’ in the basement and the Vyas family claims possession of one of them. Shailendra Kumar Pathak Vyas had petitioned that as hereditary pujari he be allowed to enter the tehkhana and resume pooja.
However, Anjuman Itezamia Masajid Committee’s counsel Akhlaque Ahmad refuted the claims, saying, “The Vyas family never performed puja in the basement. No Idol was there in the cellar. It is wrong to say that the people of Vyas family were in possession of the cellar. The basement is in the possession of the Anjuman Itezamia Masjid Committee.”
(With inputs from Sudhir Kumar in Varanasi)