NEW DELHI: The
Archaeological Survey of India
(ASI) has found that a grand
Hindu temple
once exisited at the site of the
Gyanvapi mosque
in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi, the Hindu side said after receiving a detailed survey report.
Earlier, both the Hindu and Muslim sides in the dispute had applied for copies of the ASI survey report on the Gyanvapi mosque complex adjoining the Kashi Vishwanath temple.
"The ASI has said that there existed a large Hindu Temple prior to the construction of the existing structure. This is the conclusive finding of the ASI," advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, who is representing the Hindu side, said at a press conference.
Following an order of the district court passed on July 21 last year, ASI carried out a scientific survey of the Gyanvapi premises to determine whether the mosque was constructed over a pre-existing structure of a Hindu temple.
The survey was ordered by the court after the Hindu petitioners claimed the 17th-century mosque was constructed over a pre-existing temple.
The ASI had submitted its survey report to the district court in a sealed cover on December 18.
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