Sambhal violence: District authority prohibits entry of outsiders till Dec 10

Lucknow/Sambhal (UP): A day after the Supreme Court directed the Uttar Pradesh government to maintain peace and harmony in violence-hit Sambhal, the district administration prohibited the entry of outsiders till December 10. The apex court also directed a lower court to halt survey in the Mughal-era Shahi Jama Masjid till January 8.

"No outsider, any social organisation or any public representative can enter into the borders of the district without seeking the permission of the competent authority till December 10," Sambhal District Magistrate Rajendra Pensiya in a statement issued here.

The move assumes significance as it came on a day when a 15-member delegation of the Samajwadi Party (SP) was to visit Sambhal to gather information about the violence that broke out after a survey in the Shahi Jama Masjid complex.

Leader of Opposition in Uttar Pradesh Assembly Mata Prasad Pandey, who was to lead the 15-member SP delegation, told reporters outside his residence in Lucknow that Home Secretary Sanjay Prasad had called him up and requested him to not visit Sambhal. 

"The DM Sambhal had also called me up telling me that the ban on entry of outsiders has been extended till December 10. So I will now visit the party office and discuss the issue before deciding on our next action," said Pandey.

"The government perhaps wanted to prevent me for hiding its wrongs in Sambhal as our visit would have exposed its several mistakes," he added.

Heavy security was deployed outside Pandey's residence since Friday night. SP state president Shyam Lal Pal had said earlier on Friday that a party delegation will go to Sambhal on Saturday on the instructions of party chief Akhilesh Yadav. The team will submit the report to the party chief after taking detailed information about the violence that took place there, he said.

A note shared earlier on 'X' by the SP state president had said that the delegation includes Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Mata Prasad Pandey, Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Lal Bihari Yadav, SP state president Shyamlal Pal, MPs Ziaur Rahman Barq, Harendra Malik, Ruchi Veera, Iqra Hasan and Neeraj Maurya.

Ziaur Rahman Barq has been booked in connection with the November 24 violence for allegedly committing "provocative acts". MLAs Kamal Akhtar, Ravidas Mehrotra, Nawab Iqbal Mahmood and Pinky Singh Yadav will also be part of the delegation, the note said.

The Samajwadi Party had earlier postponed the proposed visit of its delegation after getting assurance from the Director General of Police of a fair investigation into the violence. Pandey had said in a press conference last Tuesday: "I was supposed to leave for Sambhal at 10 am today, but in the meantime, I spoke to the Director General of Police. We told him that our people are being framed, even FIRs have been lodged against those who were not present there." 

Pandey said the DGP assured him of a fair investigation and asked them to visit Sambhal after three days. Meanwhile, Congress state president Ajay Rai told PTI that a party delegation will go there on December 2.

The situation in Sambhal has been tense since the first survey of the city's Jama Masjid was conducted on November 19 on the orders of a local court. The petitioner has claimed that Jama Masjid stands on a previous Harihar temple. Violence erupted earlier on November 24 as the protesters gathered near the mosque and clashed with security personnel, leading to stone pelting and arson. Four people died and several others, including policemen, were injured in the violence. The police have denied firing at the protesters opposing the survey. The Sambhal district administration has imposed prohibitory orders in the district.