Basant Panchami Puja Begins at Bhojshala in Dhar Under Tight Security
Supreme Court Orders Time-Sharing at Bhojshala; 8,000 Security Personnel Deployed to Ensure Peace
Bhopal: Amid heavy security arrangements at the dispute site of Bhojshala temple-Maulana Kamal Maula mosque in Dhar in Madhya Pradesh, Hindus on Friday observed Basant Panchami at the Vagdevi (Saraswati) shrine and Muslims offered namaz at the masjid.
There was an unprecedented rush of Hindu devotees to perform puja at the Vagdevi temple on the occasion. Around 8,000 security personnel were deployed in and around the disputed religious site to maintain law and order situation on the occasion, a senior police officer said.
After 10 years, Basant Panchami fell on a Friday, the day that the site is set aside for Muslims. This led the local administration to make special security arrangements to maintain law and order in and around the religious site. The Supreme Court had on Thursday passed orders allowing the worship to go ahead.
While Hindus were allowed to observe Basant Panchami at the Vagdevi temple from sunrise to sunset, Muslims were permitted to offer namaz at the mosque between 1 pm and 3 pm.
Bhojshala, an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)-protected site, is a disputed religious place with both Hindus and Muslims staking claim on it. The Hindus claim that the mosque was built by demolishing the Vagdevi temple.
Following this, the ASI had in early 2000s made an arrangement allowing the Hindus to worship in the Vagdevi temple built in the premises of the site on Wednesdays, while permitting Muslims to offer namaz at the Maulana Kamal Maula mosque built in another side of the site on Fridays.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has recently ordered the ASI to examine if the mosque was built by demolishing a temple at the site. The ASI has already submitted its report to the court.