(MENAFN- Live Mint) Tension had been brewing in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal since November 19, when the Mughal-era mosque Jama Masjid was first surveyed on the court's orders following a petition claiming that a Harihar temple once stood at the site. The violence in Sambhal has resulted in four deaths and several injuries.
In Sambhal, Monday was tense but peaceful. The streets around the Shahi Jama Masjid were deserted, and there was a heavy Police presence and patrolling in the entire area. Officials said the traffic movement was normal, and some shops had opened.
Police have booked Samajwadi Party MP Zia-ur-Rehman Barq and local SP MLA Iqbal Mehmood's son Sohail Iqbal and arrested 25 people following clashes between locals.
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On Sunday, trouble started early when a large group gathered near the mosque and started shouting slogans as the survey team began its work. The protesters clashed with the security personnel, torched vehicles and pelted stones.
Police have registered cases against Samajwadi Party MP Zia-ur-Rehman Bar and Sohail Iqbal, son of local SP MLA Iqbal Mehmood in connection with clashes, Hindustan Times reported.
Sambhal violence: Magisterial probe ordered
The district administration imposed prohibitory orders and barred the entry of outsiders till November 30. Internet services are suspended in Sambhal tehsil, and Monday was declared a school holiday. A magisterial probe has been ordered.
At a press conference on Monday, Superintendent of Police Krishan Kumar said seven FIRs have been lodged over the violence. Six people, including Barq and Iqbal, were named, and 2,750 others were mentioned as unidentified, PTI reported.
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Supreme Court lawyer Vishnu Shankar Jain, who filed the petition claiming that a Harihar temple once stood at the site, had earlier said the Court of Civil Judge (Senior Division) ordered the constitution of an "advocate commission" to survey the mosque. On Sunday, he 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.
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The management committee of Sambhal's Jama Masjid on Monday blamed the local authorities and the police for the violence in the district's Kot area
Zafar Ali, the president of the Shahi Jama Masjid management committee, made the allegations at a press conference and was detained by police as soon as the meeting ended.
"The recent survey of the mosque was not conducted under court orders but solely on the directions of the District Magistrate. This survey was carried out unlawfully," Ali said at the press conference.
"The culpable officials in this incident are Sambhal's Sub-Divisional Magistrate Vandana Mishra and Circle Officer Anuj Kumar," he added.
-With agency inputs
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