NEW DELHI, Sept 14: The Varanasi district court has directed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to preserve the objects related to the Hindu religion and having historical significance, found during the Scientific Survey of the Gyanvapi mosque premises.
The preserved objects will be submitted to the District Magistrate. The Hindu side has sought an “evidence room” to preserve the ‘evidence’ collected during the ASI survey, in addition to reserving the Gyanvapi mosque premises. The Muslim side has objected to the use of machines and equipment by the ASI to conduct the survey.
In August, the Allahabad High Court had allowed the ASI to conduct survey of the Gyanvapi mosque complex in Varanasi. The ASI was granted time till October 6, 2023 to complete the survey and submit the report but on Friday the court granted it four weeks’ additional time to complete the scientific survey of the mosque complex.
(Manas Dasgupta)
