Swami Avimukteshwaranand on Saturday was stopped from leaving Sri Vidya Matt in Varanasi by police as he was about to set out for the Gyanvapi complex, which is at the centre of controversy now. He had announced earlier that he and his followers would offer prayers at the ‘Shivling’ claimed to be found at the complex during the recent survey. “Until I am not given permission to worship the Shivling in Gyanvapi, I will not eat anything,” he said after he was stopped on Saturday.
Swami Avimukteshwaranand is a disciple of Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati who is the Shankaracharya of Dwarka Sharada Peetham in Gujarat and the Jyotir Math in Badrinath. The Gyanvapi row is pending at the court for hearing as the Hindu side claimed that a Shivling was found inside the mosque which the Muslim side termed as a water fountain. In the latest development of the matter in the court, the Varanasi district court has deferred the hearing till July 4. The case reached the Supreme Court as well which asked the district court to resolve the issue.
