Hindu outfit seeks excavation of mosque stairs in Agra Fort to unearth idols of Lord Krishna

Lucknow: A relatively unknown Hindu group has submitted a request to an Agra court, urging for an excavation of the stairs of a mosque situated within the Agra Fort premises saying idols of Lord Krishna are buried under the structure that should be unearthed. The petition has been filed by Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi Sanrakshit Sewa Trust, represented by its president Piyush Pandey of Agra and two others, in the court of the civil judge (senior division), Agra.

According to the petition, the idols of Krishna were brought to Agra by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, who supposedly demolished the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple in Mathura in 1670.

The requested excavation is to be conducted at the mosque known as Chhoti or Begum Sahiba mosque at Diwan-e-Khas within the Agra Fort, which is under the conservation of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

The Agra Fort, designated as a UNESCO world heritage site, was constructed in 1565 and is safeguarded by the ASI.

The plea by Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi Sanrakshit Sewa Trust was filed earlier this month. The intezamia (management) committee of the Shahi Masjid, Agra Fort, Agra, Chhoti Masjid Diwan-e-Khaas Jahanara Begum Masjid, Agra Fort, Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board, and Sri Krishna Janamsthan Sewa Sansthan were included as parties to the suit.

Sri Krishna Janamsthan Sewa Sansthan is responsible for overseeing Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi under the guidance of Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi Trust. The respective parties have been summoned by the court and are expected to appear on May 31 for the next hearing in the court of the judge, small causes/civil judge (senior division), Agra. Although the monument is conserved by the ASI, the Archaeological Survey of India has not been included as a party in the suit.

“The ASI may be involved at a later stage if deemed necessary, after obtaining court orders” Brajendra Rawat, the counsel for the petitioners.

Deoki Nandan Thakur, a Hindu religious preacher who has raised the issue and formed the body for this purpose, expressed that the relief sought from the court is to remove the idols from the steps and return them to Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi in Mathura.

The petitioner also requested a stay on the movement on the steps at the Chhoti Masjid, but the court declined to grant the stay and scheduled the next hearing for May 31.

Amir Ahmed, a lawyer in Agra, expressed skepticism about the purpose of the suit, especially considering that a similar litigation is already pending in a Mathura court. He suggested that it may be primarily aimed at gaining publicity and disturbing the peace of the city. Mohd Zahid, the chairman of Local Islamia Agency, mentioned that the mosque in question is under the supervision of the ASI and they have not received any information about the case in the Agra court. R.K. Patel, the chief superintendent at ASI Agra, also maintained a distance from the matter since the ASI has not been made a party to the case.

Thakur asserted that Aurangzeb demolished the Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi in Mathura in 1670, constructed a mosque on the temple land, and relocated the idols to Agra for burial under the stairs of the mosque. In the coming months, the Supreme Court is expected to hear pleas regarding the 1991 Places of Worship Act, which preserves the religious character of holy sites as they existed on August 15, 1947, except for the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute.

Despite the existence of this law, numerous cases have been filed in Agra, Mathura, and Varanasi courts over the past few years by Hindu groups and individuals claiming ownership of sites they believe were Hindu, but were damaged during the medieval era under different emperors.