Sambhal: Roads in the trouble-torn Sambhal City in Uttar Pradesh on Monday wore a deserted look, with the administration issuing prohibitory orders while the police booked a Samajwadi Party (SP) MP and the son of an SP legislator along with 400 others, for the deadly riots the previous day.
Internet remained suspended and schools were closed even as security forces conducted flag marches in the city, officials said.
Police sources said at least 25 people, including two women, have been detained or arrested for the violence that left four dead and dozens, including 22 policemen, injured during violent protests on Sunday against a court-ordered survey of the Mughal-era Shahi Jama Masjid in connection with a petition claiming that it was built after razing a Hindu temple in 1529.
Vehicles were torched and stones pelted during rioting on Sunday, forcing police to resort to the use of teargas and cane-charge to disperse the protestors.
Sambhal MP Zia Ur Rehman Barq, his party colleague and SP legislator Iqbal Mehmood’s son Nawab Suhail Iqbal, were named in the seven FIRs registered by the police over the violence. The accused have been booked under the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986 and the National Security Act, 1980. The administration has also restricted the entry of outsiders into the district till December 1, said an official.
Addressing a press conference on Monday, Superintendent of Police Krishan Kumar said seven FIRs have been lodged in connection with the violence. Six people, including Barq and Iqbal, were named and 2,750 others have been mentioned as unidentified, he said.
Meanwhile, union minister Giriraj Singh blamed the local politicians for fomenting trouble in Sambhal. "The Sambhal incident is a blot on our democracy. If anyone is responsible for this, it is the Opposition. A murder case should be filed against the local MLAs who incited violence. They not only spread terror but also orchestrated riots and obstructed officials, showing their disregard for the Constitution," Singh said.
Lok Sabha MP and the chairman of the JPC on Waqf (Amendment) Bill Jagdambika Pal demanded strict action against the culprits. "Who is responsible for the incident in Sambhal? The survey team acted on court orders. The administration is complying with the court's directives, and if the police and administration face stone pelting, strict action should be taken against them," Pal said.
The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, held the BJP government in UP directly responsible for the flare-up. He said the nation must join together to ensure "India moves forward on the path of unity and Constitution, not communalism and hatred".
Gandhi further said the BJP's use of power to create rift and discrimination between Hindu-Muslim communities is neither in the interest of the state nor the country. "I request the Supreme Court to intervene in this matter as soon as possible and provide justice," he added.
According to sources, weapons have been found and confiscated from nearly two dozen homes and some of its occupants were arrested by the police on Sunday after the violence in the area. More arrests are likely as police are trying to identify the miscreants with the aid of the CCTV footage.
Tensions simmered in Sambhal since November 19, when the mosque was first surveyed on court orders following a petition claiming a Harihar temple previously stood on the site. Trouble began early Sunday as a large crowd gathered near the mosque and began shouting slogans as the survey team resumed its work.
The survey, ordered by the Court of Civil Judge (Senior Division), was to include videography and photography. Supreme Court lawyer Vishnu Shankar Jain, a petitioner in the case, emphasised the importance of the survey. "The court has ordered the constitution of an 'advocate commission' for this purpose, and a report must be submitted after the survey," Jain said.
Jain added, "We urge the Archaeological Survey of India to take control of the temple site." Local lawyer Gopal Sharma, representing the Hindu side, claimed that "the temple was demolished by Mughal Emperor Babur in 1529."
In response to the unrest, the district administration suspended internet service in Sambhal tehsil for 24 hours and declared a holiday for all schools on Monday. Prohibitory measures will remain in effect until the situation stabilises.
Police said the violence started when a crowd gathered near the mosque as the survey team, led by an ‘Advocate Commissioner,’ began its work.
"It was communicated to everyone that Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, which was previously known as Section 144 of CrPC, has been imposed. Anyone who takes the law into their own hands will face strict legal action," Kumar said.
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