Photos of Taj Mahal's underground cells emerge as calls to open 'locked rooms' are rejected by High Court

Amid a fresh fillip to conspiracy theories regarding the Taj Mahal, interesting photographs taken by the Archaeological Survey of India have emerged.

The 17th century Agra monument was recently in news over a court case filed by a BJP leader. The politician wanted 20 "locked" rooms in the Taj Mahal opened to check whether they house idols of Hindu gods.

However, the Allahabad High Court dismissed the petition.

Now, photographs of some of Taj Mahal's underground cells have emerged. These were part of the Archaeological Survey's January 2022 newsletter. They show renovation and restoration of the underground cells.

Here's the caption which accompanied the photos in the ASI newsletter - "The work of maintenance of underground cells on the river side was taken up. Decayed and disintegrated lime plaster was removed and replaced by laying of lime plaster and traditional lime processing before application."

After the latest controversy erupted, Ebba Koch, a Mughal architecture historian had told the BBC that the locked rooms were chambers on the riverfront meant to be a cool recreational place in the summers.

Another historian, Rana Safvi, had claimed that the rooms were closed for public after a flood in 1978.

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