There are over 100 locked rooms in Taj Mahal, no idols found in any of them:  ASI

NEW DELHI: Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) officials have denied allegations by Hindu groups that the Taj Mahal was once a Hindu temple known as 'Tejo Mahalaya'. ASI officials said there were no idols in the 22 unopened rooms on the ground floor of the Taj Mahal.

A person named Rajneesh Singh had filed a petition in the Allahabad High Court seeking the opening up of 22 permanently locked rooms in the Taj Mahal. According to the petition, the Taj Mahal was once a Hindu temple and the idols were still present inside the rooms. The plaintiff contended that the rooms were locked to make sure that visitors d not see these idols.

'The rooms are not permanently closed. They were recently opened for conservation work. So far no idols have been found there and there is no mention of them in the documents, ”ASI officials said. Officials added that not only the 22 rooms mentioned by the petitioner, but also more than 100 rooms in the Taj Mahal are locked for various reasons.