Gyanvapi Judge says he received death threats from abroad by international numbers

The judge who ordered the Gyanvapi mosque videography alleges receiving death threats from international numbers, requesting a probe amid escalating security concerns over the sensitive case.

In an unfortunate turn of events, the individual who had issued the order for the video survey of the Gyanvapi mosque complex situated in Varanasi in 2022 has voiced concerns about receiving death threats from international numbers.

The Additional Sessions Judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar, who brought in a stir with his verdicts in the long-running Gyanvapi case, wrote to the Senior Superintendent of Police of Varanasi on demand of an investigation about the death threats received on his life.

The Judge made it public in his letter this week, that he has been getting "nuisance calls and death threats" from international numbers and these calls have only made him more worried for his safety as he says in local media reports.

Hindu petitioners in this case have asked permission to worship in the Gyanvapi complex as they claim that it was a Hindu temple which was demolished on orders of emperor Aurangzeb of the Mughals in the 17th century. The judge's command for a survey of the location by videography in 2022 was a crucial event that caused the age-old debate to erupt again.

This is not the first time such a situation has occurred and the security of the judge has been questioned. Following the Gyanvapi judgment by the Allahabad High Court in 2022, the security forces appointed him the category Y of armed security framed for the threat perceptions. The level was later downgraded to X category consisting of two unarmed personnel.

The policeman assisting the Judge said that the existing security measures are not strong enough to stop attacks by terrorists with high-quality weapons. Judge earlier expressed his concern for his own and his family's safety, saying that this case had created an "atmosphere of fear" among the judge and his family.

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In 2022, the NSA had arrested a member of the banished Popular Front of India at a place near Diwakar's residence in Lucknow, and this only made things worse.

The Gyanvapi mosque dispute which is older than decades has been revolving around for years but the court ordered archaeological survey in April 2021 sparked the dispute at large. In January, the Supreme Court allowed Hindu worshippers to access the area on a temporary basis that is also claimed by the Hindu shrine. The Muslims were, however, barred from entering.

The delicate case is full-way on and is being our close eyes on while there are fears that it could add on even more religious tensions in the country.