LUCKNOW
\nHindu groups filed petitions in a court in Uttar Pradesh to stop Muslims from entering a historic mosque until the court decides on an earlier plea seeking approval to look for any Hindu relics which may be on the site, lawyers said on Wednesday.
\nJudges of a court in Mathura, a Hindu pilgrimage town, allowed the new petitions, but have yet start hearings in the 2020 case aimed at securing permission to film and survey inside the 17th century Shahi Eidgah mosque.
\n\u201cWe suspect that Hindu symbols could be removed inside Shahi Eidgah mosque so we want the court to suspend entry of Muslims,\u201d said Mahendra Pratap, a lawyer.
\nThis month, another court in the northern state allowed a team to inspect and film inside one of the most prominent mosques in Varanasi, the political constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
\nOn Tuesday, the country\u2019s top court overturned a ruling imposed by a Varanasi court to limit large Muslim prayer gatherings in the Gyanvapsi mosque, but allowed the local court to continue proceedings.
\n\u201cWe believe that idols of Hindu gods were lying inside the mosque built after a temple was destroyed by Muslim rulers to prove supremacy,\u201d alleged Ranjana Agnihotri, a lawyer appearing on behalf of Hindu groups questioning the legitimacy of the Shahi Eidgah mosque in Mathura.
\nSurveyors involved in the Varanasi case said they found a large relic of the Hindu god Shiva inside the Gyanvapsi mosque, but Muslim groups said that a fountainhead was being misrepresented to stir religious tension.
\nReports of idols found inside the mosque have further emboldened Hindu groups in western and southern states to demand searches in other mosques.
\nPolice in Aurangabad city said they had intensified security around the grave of Mughal ruler Aurangzeb after members of a regional political party threatened to destroy the tomb.
\nThe same party recently succeeded in forcing the Maharashtra government to ensure the decibel levels of Azan were lowered after its leaders threatened to chant Hindu prayers outside mosques.
\nLeaders of Muslim political and religious groups said they would fight legal battles against Hindu groups disrupting the sanctity of mosques and tombs.
\n\u201cWe (Muslims) will not let Hindus insult our faith and our mosques,\u201d said Asaduddin Owaisi, a federal lawmaker and leader of a regional Muslim political party.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LUCKNOW Hindu groups filed petitions in a court in Uttar Pradesh to stop Muslims from entering a historic mosque until the court decides on an earlier plea seeking approval to look for any Hindu relics which may be on the site, lawyers said on Wednesday. Judges of a court in Mathura, a Hindu pilgrimage town, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":261521,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-261507","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n