`Sar tan se juda` threat to husband of woman plaintiff in Gyanvapi case; FIR lodged

Shringar Gauri-Gyanvapi case: Sohan Lal Arya is husband of Laxmi Devi, one of the five plaintiffs in case 693/2021 Rakhi Singh vs state of UP and others. They have moved the court seeking the right to worship Shringar Gauri and other deities inside the Gyanvapi compound.

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Varanasi: A day ahead of hearing in the Shringar Gauri-Gyanvapi case, which will resume at the court of the district judge here on Thursday, husband of a woman plaintiff lodged an FIR with the Varanasi police claiming that he has received a `sar tan se juda` (beheading) threat from an unidentified caller using a Pakistan number. Arya told reporters on Wednesday that he was being threatened by someone calling from a mobile number of Pakistan.

"The caller is threatening me with the slogan `Sar tan se juda` like the one related to Kanhaiya of Rajasthan (beheading like Kanhaiya Lal of Udaipur in Rajasthan). The caller is issuing threats of dire consequences to pressurise us for withdrawing the case," IANS quoted him as saying.

Sohan Lal Arya is husband of Laxmi Devi, one of the five plaintiffs in case 693/2021 Rakhi Singh vs state of UP and others. They have moved the court seeking the right to worship Shringar Gauri and other deities inside the Gyanvapi compound. Hearing on the issue of maintainability of the case is in progress in the court of district judge Ajay Krishna Vishvesha and the next hearing is scheduled on August 18.

Arya claimed that he received the calls from the same Pakistan number on March 19 and again on July 20, adding "Moreover, a missed call of August 3 is also in the call list which was noticed by Laxmi Devi." As the threat calls continued, Arya decided to bring the matter to the knowledge of commissioner of police and district magistrate.

Meanwhile, Station Officer (SO) Luxa, Anil Sahu told IANS, "We have lodged an FIR against unidentified person/s for issuing threats after receiving a complaint from Sohan Lal Arya."

Allahabad HC to hold next hearing in Gyanvapi mosque case on Aug 30

The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday fixed August 30 as the date for hearing into the maintainability of the decades-old Kashi Vishwanath temple-Gyanvapi mosque case. The petition questioning the maintainability of the case was filed by the Anjuman Intazamia Masjid committee. Justice Prakash Padia listed the matter for hearing on August 30.

Earlier in 1991, the suit was filed in a Varanasi district court, seeking the restoration of the temple at the site where the Gyanvapi mosque currently stands. The civil judge (senior division), fast track court, Varanasi, had on Apr 8, 2021 directed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct a survey of the complex to find out whether a temple was demolished to build the mosque there.

The Allahabad High Court on September 9, 2021 stayed the Varanasi court's order.

(With IANS/PTI Inputs)