New Delhi. Hindu party Vishnu Shankar Jain in the Gyanvapi Masjid case has made several claims regarding the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) survey report of the mosque complex. On Thursday he publicly disclosed the ASI survey report, saying it revealed the presence of an ancient Hindu temple at the Gyan-Vapi site. The District Judge’s office submitted an 839-page report to him on Thursday. Vishnu Shankar held a press conference on Thursday, sharing details from the report.
Following the court order, ASI surveyed the Knowledge-Vapi site. On December 18, the ASI submitted its report in the District Judge’s court. After this the Hindu side demanded that copies of the survey report be given to both the parties. On Wednesday, January 24, 2024, the district court ordered all parties involved to submit the survey report. Vishnu Shankar pointed out that as per the ASI survey, it can be claimed that there was a grand Hindu temple at the Gyan-Vapi site before the present mosque structure. The western wall of the present structure is believed to be part of an earlier Hindu temple. There is an existing framework upon which the current structure is built.
#WATCH Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh: Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain representing the Hindu side is giving information on the Gyanvapi case.
Vishnu Shankar Jain said, “ASI has said that a big Hindu temple existed there before the construction of the present structure. This is the conclusive conclusion of ASI…” pic.twitter.com/yu4LTKHkBY
— ANI_HindiNews (@AHindinews) January 25, 2024
Survey found 32 Hindu temple inscriptions
Regarding the court’s decision, the Hindu side, citing the report, claimed that the pillars and plaster were modified for re-use in the mosque. The pillars of the old Hindu temple were slightly altered for the new structure. During the survey, 32 inscriptions belonging to the old Hindu temple were found, inscribed in Devanagari, Telugu, Kannada scripts. The word “Mahamukti Mandap” found in the inscriptions has great significance. A broken part of an inscription found earlier was re-used for an old temple pillar. The basement contains statues of Hindu deities covered with clay. The western wall has been confirmed to be part of a Hindu temple. The present structure was built by reusing the pillars of the Hindu temple after it was demolished in the 17th century.
The court had ordered to hand over the hard copy of the report to all the concerned parties. Vishnu Shankar Jain had consistently insisted that a copy of the report be provided to the parties through email. However, due to concerns raised by the ASI about possible tampering and cyber fraud, the court opted for a hard copy. The decision was agreeable to both Hindu and Muslim parties, resulting in the court ordering all parties to provide a hard copy of the ASI survey report.