Amid tight security, Hindus performed puja while Muslims offered Namaz within the same premises but at a different location on the occasion of Basant Panchami that falls on Friday this year. Following a Supreme Court order, the Basant Panchami puja began on the disputed site of the 11th-century Bhojshala-Kamal Maula Mosque Dhar district in the early hours of Friday. Saffron flags and flowers were all around the town. Devotees put up the idol of Goddess Saraswati and performed puja in a symbolic of beginning of the Basant Panchami puja. Later, Namaz was offered at designated time and location.

 

With Basant Panchami falling on a Friday this year, both Hindu and Muslim communities were demanding to worshipping at the site on this day subsequently matter reached to court. On Thursday, the Supreme Court had issued directions to allow simultaneous Basant Panchami puja and namaz at the Archaeological Survey of India-protected this site . VHP’s Alok Kumar said that the consecrated idol of the deity Maa Vagdevi for the site needs to be brought back from a museum in London. As per the court’s verdict, both Hindus and Muslims were allowed to offer prayers at the disputed Bhojshala Temple-Kamal Maula Mosque complex in Dhar on Friday.

 

Members of the Hindu community were allowed to pray from sunrise to sunset on the Hindu festival Basant Panchami, which falls on Friday this year, while Muslims can offer their Friday prayers from 1 pm to 3 pm. A list of persons from the Muslim community going to offer namaz were needed to be given to the district administration. Heavy police and paramilitary personnel were deployed in Dhar. As many as 8,000 security personnel, including district police, Rapid Action Force, CRPF, MP Armed Force, SRPF and women police units were deployed around the site, and the administration opted for drones and CCTV cameras to ensure that no untoward incident occurs. First time AI based techniques were also used here according to the official.