Top News

Three people were killed and scores injured in clashes between police and protesters, triggered by a court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal on Sunday.

Police said there was peace in the area at the moment. Internet services, however, were suspended for 24 hours as a precaution. The district administration further declared a holiday on Monday (November 25) for all students up to Class 12. Soon after the clashes, which included stone-pelting incidents, the sale or collection of stones, soda bottles, and flammable or explosive items was also banned in the area.

According to the police, the three people who died were identified as Naeem, Bilal and Nauman. Preparations were underway for their post-mortem examination, they said.
Police said shots were fired by miscreants as protesters torched vehicles and hurled stones at security personnel, and they used tear gas and batons to discharge them. They said a superintendent of police suffered a gunshot to the leg, the police circle officer was hit by pellets and 15 to 20 cops were injured in the violence.
Officials said a constable suffered a serious head injury while the deputy collector fractured his leg. Fifteen people, including two women, have been detained and a probe has been launched, they said.
“We are investigating where the shots were fired from, particularly in the Deepa Sarai area," an official said, adding that the accused will be booked under the stringent National Security Act (NSA).
Sambhal has been tense since November 19 when the Mughal-era mosque was surveyed on the orders of a local court following a petition that claimed that a Harihar temple had once stood at the site. On Sunday morning, the local administration said, a second survey by an “Advocate Commissioner" started around 7 am.

HOW DID THE VIOLENCE UNFOLD?

Trouble began in the morning when a large group of people gathered near the mosque and started shouting slogans as the survey team began its work. District officials said the survey was planned in the morning to avoid interference with the mosque prayers, which are usually held in the afternoon.
“The survey was proceeding peacefully until a group of people gathered near the mosque and began raising slogans. When the police attempted to clear the area, a group of miscreants in the crowd hurled stones at the police," said the Moradabad divisional commissioner.
He said when the survey team was leaving, some people started throwing stones. “There were groups on three sides. One from the front, one from the right and one from the left. They were continuously hurling stones. Police used force so that the survey team could be taken out and escorted safely. Tear gas shells were also fired. Plastic bullets were used," he added.
The divisional commissioner said the people involved in the violence were likely incited by individuals with vested interests aiming to disrupt peace in the area. Superintendent of Police Krishna Kumar Vishnoi said, “The police used minor force and tear gas to bring the situation under control."
He said those who engaged in stone-pelting and those who incited them will be identified and action taken against them. “We are in the process of registering an FIR," he added.
District Magistrate Rajendra Pesia said, “Some miscreants resorted to stone pelting but the situation is peaceful now. Around 10 people have been detained in connection with the stone-pelting incident. They are being interrogated."
Uttar Pradesh police chief Prashant Kumar told PTI that the situation was under control in Sambhal. “We are monitoring everything. All police and civil administration officials are handling the situation on the spot. They are patrolling those areas. Anti-social elements will be identified very soon and strict action will be taken against them," he said.
Additional police units have been deployed near the mosque to ensure law and order and officials are closely monitoring the situation. On Saturday (November 23), the Sambhal district administration bound 34 people on a bond of up to Rs 10 lakh on apprehension of a breach of peace.
Persia however, said the survey was completed despite the violence, and the entire process was videographed and photographed. The team, under an “advocate commission" will present its report to the court on November 29.

WHAT DID THE GOVT, OPPOSITION SAY?

Reacting to the violence, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said strict action will be taken against those who disturb the law and order situation as well as hinder the legal process.

The opposition, meanwhile, lashed out at the BJP as Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said the ruling party, government and the administration “orchestrated the violence to divert attention from electoral malpractice".
“A serious incident occurred in Sambhal. A survey team was deliberately sent in the morning to disrupt discussions about the elections. The intention was to create chaos so that no debate on election issues could happen. I don’t want to go into the legal or procedural aspects, but the other side was not even heard. This was intentionally done to provoke emotions and avoid discussions on election rigging," he said at a press conference in Lucknow.
He added: “What happened in Sambhal was orchestrated by the BJP, the government and the administration to divert attention from electoral malpractices."
Samajwadi Party MP Zia Ur Rehman Barq had objected to the developments. “The Jama Masjid of Sambhal is historical and very old. The Supreme Court had given the order in 1991 that whatever religious places are there in whatever condition since 1947, they will remain at their places," he had said.

WHAT IS THE DISPUTE?

Supreme Court lawyer Vishnu Shankar Jain, who is a petitioner in the case, had said the Court of Civil Judge (Senior Division) ordered the constitution of an “advocate commission" to survey the mosque.
Jain had said the court had asked for a report to be filed after conducting a videography and photography survey through the commission. The central and state governments, the mosque committee and the district magistrate of Sambhal have been made parties in the petition concerning the mosque, he had said.
He and his father Hari Shankar Jain have represented the Hindu side in many cases related to places of worship, including the Gyanvapi Mosque-Kashi Vishwanath temple dispute.
Gopal Sharma, a local lawyer for the Hindu side, told PTI on November 22 (Friday) that in his petition filed in the court, he mentioned that “Baburnama" and the “Ain-e-Akbari" have confirmed that a Harihar temple was at the site where the Jama Masjid now stands. He also claimed that the temple was demolished by Mughal Emperor Babur in 1529.