Minutes after a Varanasi court ordered the Uttar Pradesh government to immediately seal the complex after the petitioner claimed that a ‘shivling’ was found in the court-mandated survey inside the Gyanvapi Mosque, Asaduddin Owaisi, leader of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), likened the development to that of Babri Masjid.

“This is a textbook repeat of December 1949 in Babri Masjid. This order itself changes the religious nature of the masjid. This is a violation of the 1991 Act. This was my apprehension and it has come true. Gyanvapi Masjid was & will remain a masjid till judgement day,” tweeted Owaisi.

Read More: Supreme Court hearing in Gyanvapi Mosque case LIVE UPDATES

The three-day videography survey of the mosque concluded today. Soon after the survey was completed, the court ordered closure of the area inside the mosque after an advocate, who represented the Hindu side, emphatically claimed that a shivling was found inside the wazu khana as a crucial piece of evidence. It also banned the entry of any person in the sealed area.

The local court also directed the DM, police commissioner, police commissionerate, and CRPF commandant Varanasi to oversee the security of the place where the shivling allegedly was found.

The court order came after an application was filed on Monday by Advocate Hari Shankar Jain, representing the five Hindu women petitioners, saying that a “Shivling is found in masjid complex at the place where waju khana is there”.

The survey team’s report will be submitted before the district court on Tuesday. The Supreme Court is also expected to hear on Tuesday a petition filed earlier against the survey ordered by a Varanasi district court.

Judge Diwakar accepted the application from Hindu petitioners’ advocate Harishankar Jain, who argued that the “Shivling” found during Monday’s survey was “important evidence”, reported news agency PTI. The application urged the court to direct the CRPF to seal the spot. It also asked the court to restrict the number of people offering namaz at the mosque.

The survey was earlier contested by the Gyanvapi Mosque authorities as they barred the entry of the court-appointed survey commissioner to conduct videography inside the premises last week. After the court ordered the survey to continue, the Gyanvapi Mosque authorities approached the Supreme Court. However, the apex court decided to grant an interim order of status quo on the videography survey while listing it for immediate hearing. The SC is set to hear petitions seeking stay on the survey on Tuesday.

After the survey concluded on Monday, Varanasi police commissioner Satish Ganesh told reporters, “The three-day action concluded on Monday. It was done in an ideal atmosphere where no law and order incident happened. We thank the people of Kashi for their cooperation”. He requested the media to “not pay heed to any unofficial statement”.

“After working for over two hours, the court commission concluded its work on Monday at around 10.15 am. All parties were satisfied with the work,” Varanasi District Magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma, who had called for peace before the videography survey began, told reporters.