Devotees offer prayers at Bhojshala:2,000 policemen deployed in Dhar; Muslim side moves to SC

Following the Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court declaring Bhojshala a temple on May 15, Friday marks the first Friday after the verdict. A special idol of Goddess Vagdevi has been installed at the site by the Bhoj Utsav Committee. Devotees have been arriving since morning for darshan and prayers. A grand aarti ceremony will be held in the afternoon. Meanwhile, around 2,000 police personnel have been deployed across Dhar district, and authorities are closely monitoring social media activity. The Muslim side has also approached the Supreme Court challenging the High Court order. Meanwhile, the Muslim side, disappointed with the High Court ruling, approached the Supreme Court on Thursday. Calling the order one-sided, Qazi Moinuddin filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) at around 8:30 pm on Thursday night. Sadar Abdul Samad said Friday prayers had been offered at Kamal Maula Mosque for nearly 700 years and the community was saddened by the impact on this tradition. However, he emphasized that the legal battle would be fought strictly within the constitutional and legal framework. City Qazi Waqar Sadiq said the Muslim community respects the judiciary and is now hopeful of getting relief from the Supreme Court. Earlier, the Muslim side had also announced plans to offer Friday prayers at Bhojshala on Friday, but the decision was postponed later in the evening. Muslim clerics appeal for peace and restraint City Qazi Waqar Sadiq said the Muslim community would resume offering prayers with dignity once relief or a stay order is granted by the Supreme Court. He also appealed to people to follow the administration’s guidelines and maintain peace and communal harmony. “This city belongs to all of us, and maintaining peace and brotherhood is everyone’s responsibility,” he said. See, three pictures Massive security deployment across Dhar The police and district administration remain on high alert to maintain law and order in Dhar district. Around 2,000 police personnel and officers have been deployed across the city. A dedicated police team is also monitoring social media activity to prevent the spread of inflammatory content. Dhar Collector Rajeev Ranjan Meena appealed to citizens to maintain peace and communal harmony. On Thursday, a foot march was also conducted under the leadership of Collector Meena and Superintendent of Police Sachin Sharma. Additional SP Vijay Dabar said eight special security companies have also been deployed along with the police force. These include: He said the district administration is continuously monitoring the situation to ensure peace and law and order. Hindu groups call day “historic” Ashok Jain, patron of the Bhoj Utsav Committee, described Friday as a “historic day.” He said that after a 721-year-long struggle, the Hindu community would finally perform prayers and the grand religious ceremony at Bhojshala with dignity and self-respect. Jain alleged that in 1305 AD, Mughal invader Alauddin Khilji illegally occupied the temple and desecrated it, after which the Hindu community had continued its struggle for centuries. Committee member Gopal Sharma said the “liberation” of Bhojshala was still incomplete. “The movement will continue until Bhojshala regains the grandeur and original form it had during the era of King Bhoj,” he said. Hindu organizations raise three demands before centre Earlier, on May 19, Hindu organizations had organized a “Victory Grand Protest” following the High Court verdict. The event began with prayers dedicated to Goddess Saraswati at 8:55 am, followed by recitation of the Hanuman Chalisa and a grand religious ceremony. The Bhoj Utsav Committee dedicated the protest to people who either lost their lives or were jailed during the Bhojshala movement. Fireworks continued for nearly an hour during the celebrations. The organizers also resolved to bring back the original idol of Goddess Vagdevi from London and reinstall it at Bhojshala. Advocate Manish Gupta said a memorandum containing three demands had been submitted to the Central government. The first demand seeks concrete steps for bringing back the Vagdevi idol from London. The second demand calls for the removal of Islamic inscriptions written inside the sanctum sanctorum. Ashish Goyal, petitioner from Hindu Front for Justice, said a separate letter had also been sent seeking immediate installation of all 94 idols of Hindu deities — including idols of Lord Brahma and Goddess Vagdevi — that were reportedly found during the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) survey at the Bhojshala complex.