Basant Panchami puja began in the early hours of Friday at the disputed 11th-century Bhojshala–Kamal Maula Mosque complex in Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar district, under heavy security arrangements.

As Basant Panchami coincided with a Friday this year, both Hindu and Muslim communities had laid claim to worship at the site. To prevent any communal tension, the Supreme Court on Thursday laid down a time-sharing arrangement for religious activities.

The historic complex was decorated with saffron flags and flowers as devotees began arriving for darshan at sunrise. Members of the Basantotsav Samiti, along with devotees, installed the idol of Goddess Saraswati, also known as Maa Vagdevi, performed aarti and offered oblations in the havan kund, marking the start of the puja.



Security was tightened across Dhar city and the surrounding district, with a large deployment of police and paramilitary forces. Around 8,000 personnel, including district police, the Rapid Action Force, CRPF, MP Armed Force, SRPF and women police units, have been stationed in and around the site. The administration is also using drones and CCTV cameras to monitor the area and prevent any untoward incident.

Earlier on Thursday, a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant ruled that religious activities would be split for the day, allowing the Hindu community to perform prayers from sunrise to sunset, while the Muslim community would be permitted to offer namaz between 1 pm and 3 pm.