Sambhal mosque violence: The Sambhal police on Monday booked Samajwadi Party MP Zia-ur-Rehman Barq and local SP MLA Iqbal Mehmood’s son, Sohail Iqbal, in connection with violence over the court-ordered survey of a Mughal-era mosque. The city administration and the police said they have evidence against the MP that he committed “provocative acts”.
Four people died in the violence and scores, including 24 police and administrative officials, sustained injuries. The police have arrested 25 people so far.
Divisional Commissioner Aunjaneya Kumar Singh said prima facie, it appears that gunshots from country made weapons were the cause of death. Seven FIRs have been registered over the violence.
“There is evidence against MP Ziaur Rahman Barq that he has committed provocative acts. Action has been taken against him as under the provisions of the BNS,” Singh said.
Superintendent of Police Krishan Kumar said on Monday that six people, including Barq and Iqbal, were named in the FIR.
The official said that Barq’s “Jama Masjid ki hifazat” (protection of Jama Masjid) remark mobilised the mob, reported PTI.
“Due to Barq’s statement earlier, the situation worsened. He was given a notice earlier for this,” he added.
On the MP being in Bengaluru and not in Sambhal on the day of the violence, Kumar said Barq’s name was included in the FIR based on his previous statements.
District Magistrate Rajender Pensiya said the mob that threw stones at the survey team and torched vehicles consisted of people who lived within the radius of 10-15 kilometers.
A local court had ordered the survey of the mosque in response to a petition that claimed the Shahi Jama Masjid was built on the ruins of a temple. The Hindu side claims the temple was demolished by Mughal emperor Babur in 1529.
This was the second survey of the mosque; the first was completed last Tuesday peacefully.
Opposition attacks BJP
Meanwhile, opposition leaders like Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Congress MPs Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra slammed the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh over the incident.
In a post in Hindi on X on Monday, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said, “The biased and hasty attitude of the state government on the recent dispute in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, is extremely unfortunate.”
The administration, without listening to all the parties, insensitively took action that vitiated the atmosphere further and led to the deaths of people — for which the BJP government is directly responsible, he alleged.
“The BJP’s use of power to create a rift and discrimination between Hindu-Muslim communities is neither in the interest of the state nor the country,” he added.
BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj, however, dubbed the violence as “pre-planned”.
With inputs from PTI