VARANASI: An armed security contingent watched over Gyanvapi mosque as a Friday congregation prayed inside a day after it emerged that ASI’s 839-page scientific survey report mentions the existence of a Hindu temple at the site before the mosque came up in the 17th century.
Hours before the prayer session, the mosque’s custodian Anjuman Intizamia Masajid (AIM) appealed to the community to be calm and patient, saying ASI’s report shouldn’t be construed as “a judgment”.
Some members of the media who had assembled outside the mosque were allegedly heckled before community elders and police intervened.Police commissioner Ashok Mutha Jain said the Jum’ah prayers were held without a hitch. When some TV reporters approached AIM joint secretary SM Yaseen, some of those accompanying him shouted slogans targeting the media, sources said. A few of them allegedly attempted to snatch mics and cameras belonging to news channels. Yaseen said that AIM would need time to study the contents of ASI’s report before seeking legal and other opinions on challenging the findings.
Hours before the prayer session, the mosque’s custodian Anjuman Intizamia Masajid (AIM) appealed to the community to be calm and patient, saying ASI’s report shouldn’t be construed as “a judgment”.
Some members of the media who had assembled outside the mosque were allegedly heckled before community elders and police intervened.Police commissioner Ashok Mutha Jain said the Jum’ah prayers were held without a hitch. When some TV reporters approached AIM joint secretary SM Yaseen, some of those accompanying him shouted slogans targeting the media, sources said. A few of them allegedly attempted to snatch mics and cameras belonging to news channels. Yaseen said that AIM would need time to study the contents of ASI’s report before seeking legal and other opinions on challenging the findings.
