Hindu petitioners seek free entry for devotees at Bhojshala

Two Hindu petitioners have demanded free entry for devotees and removal of Islamic symbols at the Bhojshala complex in Madhya Pradesh, citing a recent high court ruling that declared it a Vagdevi temple.

Days after the Madhya Pradesh High Court declared Dhar's Bhojshala complex a Vagdevi temple, two petitioners from the Hindu side on Wednesday demanded free entry for devotees and claimed that idols of Hanuman and other deities may be buried beneath the premises.

Petitioner Ashish Goyal, associated with the 'Hindu Front for Justice', in his application to the Archaeological Survey of India said worshippers should not be charged even the existing Re 1 entry fee.

The charging of fee amounted to ''disobedience'' of the May 15 high court order recognising the site as a temple, he said.

Goyal also sought immediate opening of a locked room in the south-eastern part of the complex, claiming it formed part of the original temple structure, and demanded removal of ''unauthorised Islamic symbols'' from the premises in view of the high court ruling.

Another petitioner, Kuldeep Tiwari, made a similar demand in a separate application sent to the Union Culture Ministry and the ASI.

Tiwari claimed there was a strong local belief that idols of Lord Hanuman and other Hindu deities were buried beneath the complex, and sought a scientific excavation of the site to retrieve and reinstall them with religious rituals.

In its May 15 verdict, the high court had declared the religious character of Bhojshala as a Vagdevi temple and quashed the ASI's April 7, 2003 order allowing Muslims to offer namaz there on Fridays while permitting Hindus to worship only on Tuesdays.