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Rediscovered Delhi mosque site handed over
to ASI
Saturday July 21, 2012 08:09:27 PM, IANS
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New Delhi: A day
after the Delhi High Court ordered suspension of the construction
of a mosque at an excavated site near the historic Jama Masjid
where thousands of Muslims offered Friday prayers, authorities
moved in to defuse a potentially volatile situation by handing
over the site Saturday to archaeologists.
A police contingent was seen in the area to maintain law and
order. Hundreds of onlookers gathered near the site near Subhash
Park around 10 a.m. No prayers were offered, unlike Friday when
there arose chances of trouble with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP)
activists lurking close to the area.
The North Delhi Municipal Corporation and police cordoned off the
area in the morning and handed over the site, where a building's
remains were discovered early this month during Delhi Metro work,
to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
Some area people claimed that the ruins were that of the 17th
century Mughal-era Akbarabadi mosque and started building a fresh
structure at the site after the discovery but the Delhi High Court
put a stop on it Friday.
Acting Chief Justice A.K. Sikri, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and
Justice Rajiv Shakdher said: "It is the ASI which has to take over
the site immediately to investigate whether Akbarabadi Masjid
existed there or not."
"We are of the opinion that it is the ASI which has to take over
the site immediately to investigate whether Akbarabadi Masjid
existed there or not," the court said, after some lawyers brought
the issue to the judges' notice.
Area legislator Shoaib Iqbal has been campaigning for
reconstruction of the mosque at the site.
The legislator's son Aaley Mohammad Iqbal said: "Namaz would take
place on the street considering the holy month of Ramadan, people
can offer prayer on the street. The issue is related to the
sentiments of people."
According to the ASI, the Akbarabadi mosque was built by Bibi
Akbarabadi, one of the wives of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan.
Apparently, the British destroyed it after the first war of
independence in 1857.
Subhash Park falls within the restricted zone of two protected
heritage sites -- Sunehri Masjid and Red Fort. Any construction in
the area requires permission from the National Monuments
Authority.
The Delhi Metro has already shifted the location of the upcoming
station 50 metres from the site.
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