Samajwadi Party MP Zia-ur-Rehman Barq and Sohail Iqbal, the son of local SP MLA Iqbal Mehmood, were arrested by Sambhal police on Monday in relation to violence during a court-ordered inspection of a mosque from the Mughal era. Evidence of “provocative acts” by the MP has been presented by the police and local administration.
The violence claimed four lives and injured numerous others, including 24 police and administrative personnel. To now, the police have taken 25 persons into custody.
According to Divisional Commissioner Aunjaneya Kumar Singh, the fatality appears to have been caused by gunfire from domestically manufactured weapons. Seven FIRs have been registered over the violence.
“There is evidence against MP Ziaur Rahman Barq that he has committed provocative acts. Action has been taken against him as under the provisions of the BNS,” Singh said.
Barq and Iqbal were among the six individuals mentioned in the FIR, according to Superintendent of Police Krishan Kumar’s Monday statement. Barq’s “Jama Masjid ki hifazat” (defence of Jama Masjid) statement, according to the official, inspired the crowd, according to the news agency.
The situation deteriorated as a result of Barq’s earlier statement. For this, he had previously received notification,” he said.
Regarding the MP’s being in Bengaluru rather than Sambhal on the day of the violence, Kumar claimed that the FIR contained Barq’s name because of his prior remarks.
People who lived within a 10- to 15-kilometer radius made up the mob that flung stones at the survey crew and set vehicles on fire, according to District Magistrate Rajender Pensiya.
A local court had ordered the survey of the mosque in response to a petition that claimed the Shahi Jama Masjid was built on the ruins of a temple. The Hindu side claims the temple was demolished by Mughal emperor Babur in 1529.
This was the second survey of the mosque; the first was completed last Tuesday peacefully.
Congress MPs Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, as well as opposition figures including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, attacked the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh for the incident.
Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, wrote on X on Monday that the state government’s prejudiced and hurried response to the recent Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, conflict was “very regrettable.”
He claimed that the BJP government is directly to blame for the administration’s callous actions that further deteriorated the atmosphere and resulted in fatalities, without considering the opinions of all parties.
“The BJP’s use of power to create a rift and discrimination between Hindu-Muslim communities is neither in the interest of the state nor the country,” he stated. BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj, however, dubbed the violence as “pre-planned”.
