Rahul Gandhi, Sachin Pilot Offer Prayers at Rajasthan's Ajmer Dargah

Ayodhya, Feb 18: A senior Supreme Court lawyer has written to the Ram temple trust on behalf of a group of Muslims in Ayodhya, asking that five acres of land around the demolished Babri Masjid where a graveyard is situated be spared for the sake of 'sanatan dharma'.

The letter, written by advocate M R Shamshad, is addressed to all 10 trustees of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra.

Shamshad said according to Muslims, there is a graveyard known as 'Ganj Shahidan' around the demolished Babri Masjid where 75 Muslims who lost their lives in the 1885 riots in Ayodhya were buried.

"There is a mention of this in Faizabad Gazetteer also," he said.

"The central government has not considered the issue not using the grave-yard of Muslims for constructing the grand temple of Lord Ram. It has violated 'dharma'," the letter stated.

"In view of religious scriptures of 'sanatan dharma', you need to consider whether the temple of Lord Ram can have foundation on the graves of Muslims? This is a decision that the management of the trust has to take," it said.

"With all humility and respect to Lord Ram, I request you, not to use the land of about four to five acres in which the graves of Muslims are there around the demolished mosque," the letter added.

New Delhi, April 3: With 478 cases reported in the last 24 hours, the highest spike so far, India's tally of positive coronavirus cases on Friday rose to 2,547 including 162 cured/discharged and 62 deaths, as per the latest data of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

As many as 647 positive coronavirus cases have been reported so far from across 14 States whose linkage can be traced to the Tablighi Jamaat cluster at Nizamuddin, the Centre said on Friday.

"A total of 647 cases of positive coronavirus cases have been reported from across 14 States whose linkage can be traced to the Tablighi Jamaat cluster at Nizamuddin," Lav Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said.

"The cases can be traced in Andaman and Nicobar, Assam, Delhi, Himachal, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh," added Aggarwal.

The Tablighi Jamaat event in Delhi has emerged as a hotspot for COVID-19 after several positive cases from across India were linked to the gathering including deaths in Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Telangana.

An FIR was earlier registered against Tablighi Jamaat head Maulana Saad and others under the Epidemic Disease Act 1897, in the national capital.