SAMBHAL (UP) — Police have lodged seven FIRs in connection with the violence over a court-ordered survey of a Mughal-era mosque here, naming Samajwadi Party MP Zia-ur-Rehman Barq and local SP MLA Iqbal Mehmood’s son Sohail Iqbal as accused, officials said on Monday.
The district administration has already imposed prohibitory orders and barred the entry of outsiders into Sambhal till November 30. Internet services are suspended in Sambhal tehsil and Monday was declared a holiday for all schools. A magisterial probe has also been ordered into the violence.
Three people were killed and scores of others, including security personnel and administration officials, injured on Sunday as protesters opposing the survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid clashed with police. A fourth injured person died on Monday.
Asked about their autopsy reports, Divisional Commissioner Aunjaneya Kumar Singh said that prima facie, it appears that gunshots from countrymade weapons were the cause of death. However, he did not go into further details.
Addressing a press conference on Monday, Superintendent of Police Krishan Kumar said seven FIRs have been lodged in connection with the violence. Six people, including Barq and Iqbal, were named and 2,750 others have been mentioned as unidentified, he said.
“Due to Barq’s statement earlier, the situation worsened. He was given a notice earlier for this,” he added. The official said that Barq’s “Jama Masjid ki hifazat” (protection of Jama Masjid) remark mobilised the mob.
When asked about the MP being in Bengaluru and not Sambhal on Sunday, Kumar said Barq’s name was included in the FIR based on his previous statements.
He also said that those who tried to damage the mosque by hurling stones would also be identified and rumour mongers would be taken care of.
Among the seven FIRs, Kumar said two were registered at the Nakasa police station and the rest at the Sambhal Kotwali.
The officer said 25 people have been arrested so far in the case and attempts are on to identify others involved in the violence.
He added that there was peace in the city and people have opened their shops.
District Magistrate Rajender Pensiya said late on Sunday that the prohibitory orders had been issued under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
“No outsiders, other social organisations or public representatives will enter the district border without the permission of the competent officer,” said the order, which came into force with immediate effect.
Violation of the order will be punishable under Section 223 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the BNS.
Earlier in the day, Muniraj told reporters that Naeem, Bilal and Nauman — the three men who died in Sunday’s violence — had been buried. All three were aged about 25.
Asked about the role outsiders played in the violence, Pensiya said that according to the probe, people gathered here from places 10-15 kilometres away.
Traffic movement in the city is normal and despite the weekly closure, some shops have opened, he said, adding that only the area near the mosque wore a deserted look.
A local shopkeeper said that the number of people coming to buy daily items increased in the afternoon.
Several houses in the area were seen locked and no one was ready to talk to the media. Heavy police force was deployed in the entire area and patrolling was underway.
Tension had been brewing in Sambhal since November 19 when the Jama Masjid was first surveyed on the court’s orders following a petition claiming that a Harihar temple had stood at the site.
On Sunday, trouble started early when a large group of people gathered near the mosque and started shouting slogans as the survey team began its work.
District officials said the survey could not be completed on Tuesday and was planned for Sunday to avoid interference with afternoon prayers.
Supreme Court lawyer Vishnu Shankar Jain, who is a petitioner in the case, had earlier said the Court of Civil Judge (Senior Division) ordered the constitution of an “advocate commission” to survey the mosque.
The court has said a report should be filed after conducting a videography and photography survey through the commission, he had said.
On Sunday, Jain urged the Archaeological Survey of India to take control of the “temple”.
Gopal Sharma, a local lawyer for the Hindu side, had earlier claimed the temple that once stood at the site was demolished by Mughal emperor Babur in 1529.