High alert in Sambhal.
Following violence during the poll at Shahi Jama Masjid in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal district on Sunday, police held a flag march in areas near the mosque on Thursday, a day before Friday prayers. Police said life is returning to normal in Sambhal town. To create a sense of security among the people, a police team led by Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Shrish Chandra patrolled the busy markets. After Sunday’s violence, most shops in Sambhal Nagar opened for the first time.
The ASP stated that the situation is completely peaceful and normal. When asked about security arrangements for Friday prayers, he said: “Adequate police force has been deployed in the area and we are prepared to deal with any kind of situation.”
Shrish Chandra said the local police and district administration held a meeting with local Muslim religious leaders regarding Friday prayers. Along with the Friday prayers at Sambhal, the Jama Masjid inquiry report will also be presented in court today, for which lawyers for the Muslim and Hindu sides have completed preparations.
When asked about today’s hearing in court and submission of the Jama Masjid survey report by the Advocate Commissioner, counsel for the Hindu side Shri Gopal Sharma said that the Muslim side has to respond. After that we will prepare to respond. We will decide our future strategy only after the Muslim side responds.
At the same time, the lawyer for the Muslim side, Shakeel Ahmed Warsi, stated that we are fully prepared. We have complete evidence to prove our side, which we will present in court. Meanwhile, Moradabad divisional commissioner Anjaneya Kumar Singh said the families of the four people killed in the Sambhal violence have filed cases against unknown persons. An injured person is being treated in Moradabad. His family has lodged an FIR in Moradabad.
He said police force is deployed at all sensitive places in Sambhal. Vigilance is being maintained not only in Sambhal but in all the five districts of Moradabad division. On the question of how much damage was caused by the violence that took place in Sambhal last Sunday, the divisional commissioner said damage assessment is in the final stages.
Meanwhile, Imam of Shahi Jama Masjid Aftab Hussain Warsi expressed hope that peace would soon be restored in Sambhal as before. He said, may Allah maintain peace as it was before. I hope everything is fine soon.
Sambhal Town Qazi Qari Mohammad Alauddin Ajmali said that I appeal to the people of Sambhal to all offer namaz in the mosques of their respective localities. People coming to the city from nearby towns and outside should offer namaz only in mosques in their respective areas. He said we want peace to be established in Sambhal soon. We have appealed to police officers to ensure that any arrest is not illegal.
There has been a tense situation in Sambhal ever since the first survey was carried out at Jama Masjid on November 19 on the orders of the court. In the petition in which the court passed this order, it is stated that earlier there was a Harihar temple at the place where Jama Masjid is located.
Last Sunday, violence broke out during a reconnaissance of the mosque. During this time, four people were killed and another 25 injured in the clash between protesters and police. Although the situation in the city has almost normalized, traders in the markets near the mosque say they are facing losses following the incident. The biggest losses were suffered by the owners of bullion shops located in the bullion market located half a kilometer from the mosque.
Bullion trader Ajay Kumar Gupta said there are more than 70 to 80 shops in the market. He said that despite it being wedding season, our sales have decreased significantly. In the last four days, only three customers have come to my store. He claimed that the bullion market has suffered a loss worth millions of rupees after Sunday’s violence.
Khushnawaz, owner of an electronics store, said we are sitting idle and it is becoming difficult to earn money after the violence. All India Trade Union Federation district president Rajeev Varshney said, “This incident is very sad. Traders suffer the biggest losses in these types of incidents. People don’t go out out of fear, so business is affected.
Meanwhile, police are investigating the violence that occurred on Sunday. Three other accused have also been arrested in the case, taking the total number of people arrested in the incident to 31. According to police sources, Faizan, Mohammad Ali and Rehan were arrested in the violence case. The police also recovered from his possession 300 domestically manufactured firearms, three shell casings and seven bullets.
Police sources said 30 teams have been formed to identify and arrest the accused with the help of CCTV footage. More than 100 photographs of suspected rioters in the Kot Garvi area have been published. Despite the reopening of markets and schools in Sambhal, the internet ban was extended on Wednesday for 48 hours as a “precautionary measure”.
Last Sunday, four people were killed in the violence that took place during the survey of the Jama Masjid. They have been identified as Naeem, Bilal, Noman and Kaif. Police have registered seven cases in this case and arrested 31 people so far. Samajwadi Party MP from Sambhal Zia-ur-Rehman Burke and Suhail Iqbal, son of party MLA from Sambhal Sadar seat Iqbal Mahmood, have been named in a case.
