Agra: A local court on Monday issued notices to secretaries of Intezamia Committee Shahi Masjid Agra, Chhoti Masjid Deewan-e-Khaas, Jahanara Begum Masjid, chairman of Uttar Pradesh Central Waqf Board and secretary of Shri Krishna Janmasthan Sewa Sansthan on a plea to excavate idol of Bhagwan Keshav Dev claimed to be buried under the staircases of Jama Masjid.

The notice has been issued by the court of Civil Judge (Senior Division) Bhartendu Prasad Gupta on a plea filed by Shri Krishna Janmsthan Sanrakshit Sewa Trust through its president Manoj Kumar Pandey on May 11. The court while admitting the plea has directed the opposite party to file their reply by May 31.

Patron of the trust Katha Vachak Devkinandan Thakur said that during Bhagwat Katha in Agra, while appealing for brotherhood, he talked about handing over the idols, but no one responded to it. He said that now using the Constitutional right he has moved the court and the picture will become clear once the staircases of the mosque were dug.

He said that Mughal emperor Aurangzeb got the temple of Keshavdev demolished in the year 1670. He claimed that after this the idol of Keshavdev was buried under the staircases of Jama Masjid in Agra.

Devkinandan Thakur said that many historians including contemporary historians of Aurangzeb's time have described this in their books. He said that the idols should be taken out so that they could be taken to Mathura for worship.

(With UNI inputs)