Sambhal: A Hindu litigant in the Shahi Jama Masjid Harihar Mandir dispute has announced a 2.5 kilometre padyatra around the disputed complex on 19 November. Mahant Rishi Raj Giri, founder of the International Harihar Sena and a party to the ongoing title case, said the march will take place on the first anniversary of the court ordered survey conducted at the site last year. No permission has been sought from the administration.
The Mughal era Shahi Jama Masjid has been the centre of a growing dispute after a petition claimed it was built over an ancient Hindu temple. Cases linked to the site are currently before the Supreme Court, the Allahabad High Court and a district court. The area saw violence on 24 November last year when protests against the survey turned deadly. Four people lost their lives.
Officials said they have no information about the proposed event. Giri told reporters that participants will travel by vehicle up to Motinagar at 10 am. They will then walk around the outer boundary of the complex before returning to the Kela Devi temple. He framed the padyatra as a social, religious and spiritual act. He said his group respects the legal process.
Separately, police registered an FIR against two members of the Shahi Jama Masjid management committee. ASI Superintending Archaeologist Vinod Singh Rawat said an ASI team from the Meerut Circle visited the mosque on 8 October for an inspection related to conservation work. The complaint said two staffers obstructed the team from entering the main dome. An unidentified person also tried to create a dispute and used objectionable language. The team returned to Meerut without completing the work.
