Gyanvapi case: Lawyer representing masjid committee dies of heart attack

Varanasi, Aug 01: A lawyer representing the masjid committee in the Gyanvapi-Shringar Gauri complex case died due to cardiac arrest, family sources said here. He was 62.

Abhay Nath Yadav, the leading counsel for Gyanvapi mosque management committee before the Varanasi court, died of cardiac arrest on Sunday night and will be cremated on Monday.

Yadav was a prominent lawyer representing the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee in the case.

The Allahabad High Court had last week adjourned the hearing of the case till August 3 challenging the maintainability of a 1991 suit seeking the right to worship by Hindu petitioners.

Earlier, Judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar - who had ordered the video survey of the Gyanvapi mosque complex in Varanasi had received a hand-written threat letter.

In a letter to the Additional Chief Secretary (Home), Director General of Police (DGP) and the Varanasi Police Commissionerate, Diwakar said he received the letter, purportedly written by Kashif Ahmed Siddiqui on behalf of the Islamic Aagaz Movement, via registered post.

Varanasi Police Commissioner A Satish Ganesh confirmed the receipt of the letter by the judge.

A total of nine police personnel were deployed for the security of the judge.

On July 26, the Allahabad High Court adjourned the hearing till August 3 in a case filed by the Anjuman Intazamia Masjid Committee challenging the maintainability of a 1991 suit seeking the right to worship by Hindu petitioners.

The suit was filed seeking the restoration of the ancient temple at the site where the Gyanvapi mosque currently stands. The petitioners claimed in the suit that the mosque is a part of the temple.