Gyanvapi mosque survey: Court grants two more days to submit report, removes commissioner

Varanasi, May 17: The Varanasi Civil Court on Tuesday removed the Advocate-Commissioner Ajay Kumar Mishra from the panel formed to survey Gyanvapi mosque.

The court-appointed Special Commission has also received two more days to submit the survey report. "The Varanasi court has granted two days to submit the report. He (Advocate-Commissioner Ajay Kumar Mishra) was not cooperating," Assistant Court Commissioner Ajay Pratap Singh said. Also Read | Punjab power crisis deepens; 2 of 4 units of Ropar thermal plant shut  The commission had sought two-days time to submit the survey report. "We had sought two days more from the court. The court has granted us time for submission of the report," Advocate Vishal Singh, the court-appointed special assistant commissioner said. The survey lasted for three days from May 14-16. According to Ajay Pratap Singh, only 50 per cent of the report was complete by Tuesday morning. The three-day-long court-monitored videography survey of the Kashi Vishwanath Temple-Gyanvapi Mosque complex in Varanasi concluded on Monday. The Hindu petitioner in the case, Sohan Lal Arya, on Monday claimed that the committee found a Shivling at the complex. Arya, who accompanied the court commission for the mosque survey, said they had found "conclusive evidence". The Supreme Court heard the plea seeking a stay on the survey of the Gyanvapi Mosque complex in Varanasi on Tuesday and observed that till the next date of hearing, they would issue a direction that DM Varanasi would ensure that the Shivling area would be protected, but it would not impede access of Muslims to the mosque for prayers. Also Read | Kannada actress Chethana Raj dies during fat removal surgery Meanwhile, president of the Hindu Sena Vishnu Gupta on Tuesday filed an intervention application seeking directions for dismissal of the petition filed by Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Management Committee challenging the videography survey of the Gyanvapi Mosque complex, which is adjacent to the famous Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi. After the conclusion of the survey, the Varanasi court ordered the District Magistrate of Varanasi, Kaushal Raj Sharma, "to seal the area where the Shivling was found and to bar people from going to the place." In its order, the court said the DM, police commissioner and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) commandant Varanasi would be responsible for the security of the sealed area. -PTC News