VARANASI: The pond area of the Gyanvapi mosque complex, where a shivling was purportedly found during a court-mandated survey last Monday, became a fortress on Wednesday with unauthorised entry cut off much ahead of the protected zone and officials conducting surprise checks in keeping with the Supreme Court’s directive on Tuesday to seal off the wuzu khana.
The ablution pond had been sealed on Monday on the orders of Varanasi civil judge (senior division) Ravi Kumar Diwakar. This was soon after a lawyer representing one of the plaintiffs in the Shringar Gauri worship case claimed the ongoing survey had revealed a shivling hidden under the water.
