The Gauri Shankar Temple in Moradabad, which had been closed for 44 years, reopened on 30th December 2024. The government discovered Shivling, Nandi, and Hanumanji’s broken idols during an excavation on Monday. It has been revealed that the temple’s priest was killed during the 1980 riots and the Muslim mob vandalised the idols. The temple was closed after this.
However, seven days ago, the deceased priest’s grandson filed an application with Moradabad DM Anuj Singh to reopen the temple. The local people had also staged a demonstration before the collectorate and demanded the temple’s reopening and restoration. Previously, the police and administration team had visited a Muslim-dominated Jhabbu ka Nala Mohalla in the Nagfani area, where the temple was later found.
Following this, DM Anuj sought a report from the Deputy District Magistrate Ram Mohan Meena about the temple. On December 27, the Sub-District Magistrate collected information from the people associated with the temple. It was found that a transgender named Mohini used to clean the temple. It came to light that some walls were built illegally making it difficult to reach the temple.
Following the riots in 1980, the temple’s sanctum sanctorum was blocked off by the construction of a wall. These walls were demolished amid strict security, uncovering the temple. At around 1.30 pm on Monday, Lord Hanuman’s statue started appearing on the wall of the temple. There is a place for Shivling on the ground, however, the Shivling is missing while Nandi is installed nearby. Some more statues have emerged on the wall, but they are broken. As per the administration, now the statues will be secured here and arrangements will be made for their worship.
According to Seva Ram, his great-grandfather Bhimsen used to take care of the temple and also perform puja. However, in the riots of 1980, a Muslim mob allegedly killed Bhimsen and his body was also not found. It is said that after killing the priest Bhimsen, the frenzied mob threw his body into the fire.
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