MP, MLA’s son booked for Sambhal clash

Akhilesh blames UP Govt, BJP dubs it pre-planned attack akin to Godhra

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New Delhi, Updated At : 06:04 AM Nov 26, 2024 IST

Security personnel stand guard after violence over the Jama Masjid survey in Sambhal. PTI

The UP Police have booked Samajwadi Party MP Ziaur Rahman Barq and local party MLA Iqbal Mehmood’s son Sohail Iqbal, and arrested 25 persons in connection with the Sunday violence over a court-ordered survey of a Mughal-era mosque in Sambhal district.

Barq and Sohail have been accused of instigating people that led to the violence, killing four persons and leaving dozens injured.

The issue resonated in Parliament today as SP chief and Kannauj MP Akhilesh Yadav alleged the BJP-led Adityanath government was behind the violence. AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi sought action against the police personnel allegedly involved in the killing of four persons during protests. He demanded a probe into the matter by the high court.

Editorial: Sambhal mayhem

Union minister and BJP MP Giriraj Singh, however, blamed the opposition for the violence, calling it a “pre-planned strategy” akin to the Godhra incident.

Sambhal remained tense even as District Magistrate Rajendra Pensiya and Superintendent of Police Krishna Kumar Bishnoi said the situation in the district had been under control since Sunday afternoon. In all, seven FIRs have been registered in the matter, and Barq and Iqbal are among the six named as accused apart from 2,750 others. Tension had been brewing in the area since last week after a civil court directed the advocate commissioner to survey the Shahi Jama Masjid following a petition that claimed it was built after razing a Hindu temple in 1529. An “initial survey” of the mosque was held the same day. A mob clashed with the police during the second survey at the mosque on Sunday, leaving three dead and over 20 police personnel injured. A fourth injured person died on Monday.

Eight security measures, including prohibitory orders and Internet suspension, had been implemented in Sambhal to prevent further escalation. Entry of outsiders into Sambhal had been barred till November 30. A magisterial probe had also been ordered into the violence.

Tensions in Sambhal had been simmering since a local court ordered a survey of the mosque last Tuesday. The survey team revisited the mosque on Sunday for further investigations.