Varanasi court bans media from covering Gyanvapi survey
Varanasi, Aug 9: A Varanasi court on Wednesday barred media from covering the ongoing ASI survey of the Gyanvapi complex from the spot and also directed members of the survey team to not give comments to any media outlet.
The court of District Judge A K Vishvesh passed the order on a plea by the Gyanvapi management committee seeking a ban on the media coverage of the survey which is being conducted to determine whether the 17th-century mosque was constructed over a temple.
Madan Mohan Yadav, the Hindu side's lawyer who was present in the court during the hearing, told PTI, "The court has ordered the media to not report the event from the spot. The members of survey team should also not give comments in the media. The court further advised that such reports on the issue that could lead to breach of peace should not be put on social media."
In July, a Varanasi court had directed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct a scientific survey of the Gyanvapi mosque complex located next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple here. The order was upheld by the Allahabad High Court.
The survey of the mosque complex began on August 4 following court orders.
Syed Mohammad Yasin, joint secretary of Anjuman Intezamia Masjid that manages the mosque, said the ASI survey is being done on the orders of the court.
No statement has been given so far by the survey team or any of its officials, but newspapers and news channels and on social media misleading news is being run continuously, he claimed.
Yasin said that this will have a "wrong effect" on the people's mind and such news items should be stopped from being published.
"We gave an application in the court of District Judge A K Vishvesh on Tuesday, which is expected to be heard on Wednesday," he said earlier in the day.
Amid the ongoing survey at the mosque complex, Yasin had on Sunday said baseless things were being spread, and if they were not stopped, then the Muslim side could boycott the survey.
Yasin had alleged that during the survey on Saturday, a section of the media spread rumours that idols, tridents and urns were found in the basement of the mosque, hurting the sentiments of the Muslim community.
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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
