Uttar Pradesh: Court to hear plea seeking to 'dig out Lord Krishna idols' from Agra Jama Masjid today

The plea will be heard by Civil Judge (Superior Division) Court of Diwani. The hearing comes after the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Sanrakshit Seva Trust claimed that Mughal ruler Aurangzeb had buried the idol of Lord Keshavdev from Mathura Krishna Janmabhoomi in 1670 under the stairs of Agra's Jama Masjid (Jahanara Begum Masjid).

Agra: Amid the ongoing hearing in the Gyanvapi case, a local court in Uttar Pradesh's Agra will hear a plea by Hindu petitioners on Tuesday claiming that an idol of Lord Krishna is buried under the stairs of the Agra Jama Masjid. The hearing in the much talked about Agra Jama Masjid case is to be held today in the Civil Judge (Superior Division) Court of Diwani.

The petition filed by the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Sanrakshit Seva Trust has claimed that Mughal ruler Aurangzeb had buried the idol of Lord Keshavdev from Mathura Krishna Janmabhoomi in 1670 under the stairs of Agra's Jama Masjid (Jahanara Begum Masjid). Trust's advocate Vinod Shukla said that the High Court has directed the lower court to settle the case within six months.

The Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi Sanrakshit Seva Trust has filed a suit in the court demanding a survey of Jama Masjid by a team of ASI technical experts. Whereas, one of the defendants has filed an application in the court and appealed that the court does not have the jurisdiction to hear the case of Jama Masjid.

Famous storyteller Devkinandan Thakur of Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Sanrakshit Seva Trust claims that Mughal ruler Aurangzeb buried the idol of Lord Keshavdev from Mathura Krishna Janmabhoomi in 1670 under the stairs of Agra's Jama Masjid (Jahanara Begum Masjid). “Therefore, the court should first stop the movement of people from the stairs of Jama Masjid. Along with this, ASI should survey the stairs of Jama Masjid and remove the idols of Lord Krishna from there,” he said.

Vinod Shukla, advocate of Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Sanrakshit Seva Trust, said that the dispute can be ended with the survey report of ASI. Historian Rajkishore 'Raje' said that Mughal emperor Shahjahan had built the mosque in the name of his most beloved daughter Jahanara between 1643 and 1648. Raje said that, in the seventh decade of the 16th century, Mughal emperor Aurangzeb had demolished the Keshavdev temple of Mathura and had brought all the antiquities along with the idols of Keshavdev temple to Agra.

“He buried the statues and antiquities under the stairs of Jama Masjid,” Raje claimed.