Clashes broke out in the Sambhal city of Uttar Pradesh on Sunday over a court-ordered survey of the 16th-century Shahi Jama Masjid built by the Mughals.
Sambhal:
Internet services have been suspended and schools shut after four people were killed in violence over the survey of a mosque in Uttar Pradesh Sambhal on Sunday. A clash broke out in Sambhal Sunday morning when a survey of the Mughal-era Shahi Jama Masjid as per a court direction witnessed hardline locals unleashed terror on the police.
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Chaos erupted in Sambhal Sunday morning when a court-ordered survey of the Mughal-era Shahi Jama Masjid led to violent clashes between the locals and the police. It is currently in the middle of a legal tussle over accusations that the mosque was constructed on the ruins of a demolished temple.
Within demonstrators also burnt some car tires and pelted stones at the police who responded with tear gas and batons to wade off the rampaging mob.
During the incident, about 20 police officers were also injured. The constable is reported to be critical after being injured on the head.
Twenty-one people including three women have been arrested and an investigation begins, a local official stated, further revealing that the accused individuals in the violence would be charged with the National Security Act (NSA).
Two of them died because the cause of death is evident: bullet injuries made with countrymade pistols. It is not clear why the third person died, that will be known after his autopsy,” District Magistrate Rajender Pensiya as reported by the PTI news agency.
Internet has been shut down in Sambhal for a day and schools and universities in Sambhal closed all levels of students till senior secondary on Monday.
The officials have also restricted any outsider or social organization including any public representative without any orders of the authorities till November 30 in Sambhal.
Row Over Mosque Survey In Sambhal
Sambhal has been tense since last Tuesday when Jama Masjid was measured at the direction of a local court on the plea that a Harihar temple existed in the area. The officials stated that the survey cannot be carried out on Tuesday and it is slated for Sunday morning to possibly dodge the prayer that is often conducted in the afternoon.
A lawyer supporting Hindus’ rights said that the original temple was destroyed on the site by the first Mughal Emperor Babur, in 1529.
On the positive side, the survey is considered a social necessity for revealing the history, while the negative side is that the action is considered an act of provocation and desecration of religious spaces according to the Places of Worship Act, of 1991.
Nevertheless, all the officials surveyed as scheduled, though involved the use of violence. One of the petitioners Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain said the survey team conducted a thorough assessment supported by video and photographs in compliance with the court orders. We expect to submit the survey report by 29th November.
Mr. Jain and his father Hari Shankar Jain have earlier argued the Hindu side in many matters about worship structures including the Kashi Vishwanath temple-Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi.
Opposition To Mosque Survey In Sambhal
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi described the state government’s attitude towards the dispute as “biased and hasty” and said that this was “highly regrettable”.
The action taken by the administration without giving an equal chance to every party involved worsened the situation and many people died – for the BJP government’s action, he posted on X.
SP who has traditional support in Sambhal and currently has MP and three out of five MLAs of the region, Akhilesh Yadav criticizes the survey and said that the Supreme Court should “immediately” take cognizance of the conspiracy to spread tension in the name of the survey.
Thus, a case of disturbing peace and harmony should be registered against those who carried sloganeers intending to disturb social harmony. The Bar Association should take disciplinary and punitive action against them. There was no hope from the UP government and administration, nor is there any now,” he posted in Hindi on X.