SAMBHAL: Two more people injured during Sunday morning’s violent clashes in Sambhal died on Monday, taking the toll in the incident to five. Meanwhile, seven FIRs have been lodged against more than 2,500 people, including Samajwadi Party MP Zia-ur-Rahman Barq and MLA Iqbal Mahmood’s son Sohail. Police have detained 25 suspects and claimed additional accused were being identified through drone footage.
Internet services in the city remained suspended and schools were closed on Monday.Outsiders have been barred from entering the area until Dec 1. Police also sealed the area around Jama Masjid (where the clash took place) and were conducting flag marches in sensitive zones.
Divisional commissioner Aunjaneya Singh said that FIRs have been registered against 15 identified people while the remaining accused are unidentified.
SP MP and MLA’s son incited mob to attack: Police official
The condition of an injured person and a policeman is critical. Families of the deceased men have been told that they can also register an FIR, divisional commissioner Aunjaneya Singh said.
A senior police officer, requesting anonymity, said, “The Samajwadi Party MP delivered offensive statements, and the MLA’s son gathered people and launched an attack on police and the survey team. They both came to the mosque when the survey was conducted on Nov 19, and then they came on Friday as well. We have sufficient evidence that it was a planned conspiracy as the perpetrators collected sufficient firearms and stones for launching an attack.”
Violence erupted had in Sambhal on Sunday morning when a mob pelted stones at police officers and an Archaeological Survey of India team during a court-ordered survey of the 16th-century Shahi Jama Masjid. The court ordered the survey after a petition alleging that Mughal emperor Babur had demolished a temple here to build the mosque.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav criticised the FIRs against MP Barq, saying, “Barq was not even there in the district, and still he was named in the FIR. Five people – Nayeem, Kaif, Numaan, Bilal, and Ayaan – lost their lives in police firing. It was a planned conspiracy by govt. They orchestrated the violence to divert attention from electoral malpractice during the bypolls.”
Meanwhile, many residents voiced their fears about the situation.
Mohammad Asleem, a local, told TOI, “Many people were injured in stone-pelting, lathi-charge, and firing by police. Their families took them to private hospitals for treatment. Most of the people who live in this area are labourers or small traders. Everyone is scared and living under fear of police at present.”
