VARANASI: A lawyer's claim about a "shivling" being found in the wuzu khana (ablution pond) of the Kashi Vishwanath-Gyanvapi complex during the ongoing court-ordered survey of the premises on Monday prompted the civil judge hearing the case to direct the administration to immediately seal and secure the area. The keys to the sealed zone were handed to the treasury soon after.
The controversial turn in the case involving five women petitioners seeking the right to unhindered daily worship of Goddess Shringar Gauri and other deities along the outer wall of the complex came a day ahead of the scheduled submission of the videography survey report to the court of civil judge (senior division) Ravi Kumar Diwakar. The Supreme Court, too, will take up on Tuesday the Gyanvapi mosque committee's plea challenging the Varanasi court's order to survey the complex.
