Ayodhya, May 21: A five-foot-long Shivling, carvings on sandstone and some broken idols of deities have been found at the Ram Janmbhoomi site in Ayodhya, where Babri Masjid once stood, reports said on Thursday. The Shivling and other objects were reportedly found during the land levelling work at the Ram Janmabhoomi site, said Champat Rai, General Secretary of the Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirth Kshetra Trust. Ayodhya Verdict: Full Text of Supreme Court Judgment in Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi Title Dispute.

"Debris is being removed and land being levelled at Ram Janmabhoomi since past 10 days. We have discovered pillars in the debris of the structure and carvings on sandstone. We also found a Shivling there and a similar one at Kuber Teela," Champat Rai told news agency ANI. Reacting to the discovery, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmaker Subramanian Swamy said he is not surprised. Ram Mandir Made of Bullet-Proof Fibre Reaches Ayodhya, to be Used as Makeshift Temple.

"I am not surprised as between 2002-2005, Archaeological Survey of India had found many but they didn't dig enough. In the report they gave to Allahabad High Court, they had said very clearly that there were enough indications that there were structures of the erstwhile temple found in bits and pieces in the digging they had done," Subramanian Swamy told a news channel.

"At that time, they had limited objectives and that was to see below the masjid, there was any evidence of a pre-existing temple and as soon as they found some artefacts, they concluded and the matter was taken up for the final hearing in the Ram Janmabhoomi case. Now, we are re-building a temple and naturally, they will dig much deeper and hence I am not surprised at all about what they have just discovered," he added.

It may be recalled that the Supreme Court had on November 9 last year held that there evidence of a structure beneath the disputed site and a Ram temple can be constructed. The five-judge bench also said the Sunni Waqf Board, which was a party to the 7-decade-old title suit, should be given an alternate five-acre land at some other suitable place for construction of a mosque.

The top court directed the Central government to hand over the site at Ayodhya for the construction of a temple and set up a trust for the same. Subsequently, Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirtha Kshetra was formed and the Ram temple construction work is underway.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 21, 2020 12:14 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).