The final report of the court-ordered survey conducted inside Gyanvapi mosque was submitted with the district court on Thursday. Although the advocate commissioner Vishal Singh refused to divulge the contents of the reports of the recently concluded survey, parts of it were leaked to the media by a portion of Hindu petitioners.
They claimed that the report had mentioned the presence of signs inside the mosque of what the petitioners termed 'Sanatan Dharma'.
The Gyanvapi mosque premises has been under dispute recently after five women petitioned the court seeking permission to worship at the temple inside the mosque. The Gyanvapi mosque is adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi.
Former advocate commissioner Ajai Kumar Mishra, who had led the survey initially but was removed by the court, had also given his report on Wednesday. Incidentally, Mishra was removed for leaking some of the survey information to the media.
The second survey reportedly said there were signs of 'damaru’ (small two-sided hour-glass drum depicted to be used by Lord Shiva), ‘lotus’ and ‘trishul’ (trident wielded by Lord Shiva). It also stated that there were signs of symbols identified with the Sanatan Dharma on the walls in the basement of the mosque.
In his report, Mishra, too, had mentioned presence of broken idols of Hindu gods, 'sheshnag' (mythological serpent which is showed as holding on its hood all the planets of the universe and is the seat of Lord Vishnu) and 'diya' (earthen lamp) on the walls of the mosque.
Hindu lawyers had earlier claimed that a 'Shiv Linga' was found inside the premises, after which the court had ordered to seal the place. The lawyers representing the Muslims, however, refuted the claim saying that what was being called a 'Shiva Linga’ was in fact a “fountain”. They also claimed that the Varanasi court did not hear their side before passing the order to seal the place.
The court had ordered a videography and survey inside the mosque premises on a petition seeking permission for daily worship at the Shringar Gauri temple, which was allegedly situated inside the Kashi Vishwanath-Gyanvapi Mosque premises.
The Gyanvapi mosque has been a bone of contention between the Hindu and Muslim communities for the past few decades. Since the Supreme Court’s decision on Ram Temple in Ayodhya, there has been renewed clamour by saffron outfits to “take back” the Kashi Vishwanath Temple premises.