After Gyanvapi and Mathura, clamour emerges over Lucknow's historic 'Teele Wali Masjid'

Amid the ongoing legal battle over the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi and the Shahi Idgah Mosque in Mathura, saffron outfits staked their claim to the historic 'Teele Wali Masjid' in Lucknow, stating that it was in fact 'Laxman Tila' and vowed to march to the Masjid to 'recite' Hanuman chalisa there.

The police, however, banned the proposed march on Sunday and detained Rishi Trivedi, president of Hindu Mahasabha's state unit, late on Saturday night after the imam of the Masjid Syed Fazlul Mannan warned that the Muslims would protest against the march.

Hundreds of Hindu Mahasabha workers laid a siege to the police station where Trivedi was allegedly kept after being detained, demanding his immediate release.

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"The Laxman Tila Mukti Sankalp Yatra was banned.....security personnel in strength had been deployed on the roads leading to the Masjid....No yatra was undertaken," said a senior police official here on Sunday.

The 'Teele Wali Masjid', which, according to the Avadh historians, was built in the 16th century, is situated on the bank of the Gomti river near the famous 'Imambara' and was the biggest sunni mosque in Uttar Pradesh. Around one lakh people can offer prayer in the sprawling Masjid and its adjoining lawns.

While the saffron outfits claim that it is 'Laxman Tila' and was 'converted' into a mosque during the Mughal period, the Muslims reject the claims saying that it had been built during the 16th century. "It is nothing but propaganda by the saffron outfits," said Mannan.

The saffron leaders also claimed that the city of Lucknow was built by Laxman, the younger brother of Lord Ram, and also that its old name was 'Lakhanpuri'. UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath had recently hinted that the state government could rechristen Lucknow as Lakhanpur or Laxmanpuri.