Samajwadi MP among 400 charged for Sambhal violence

Sambhal: At least 25 people were arrested and seven cases registered against 400 people after four persons were killed in violence over the survey of a mosque in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal on Sunday. Samajwadi Party MP from Sambhal, Zia Ur Rahman Barq, and his party colleague Iqbal Mahmood's son Nawab Suhail Iqbal are among those who have been charged, officials said.

Sambhal witnessed deadly clashes between the locals and the police during a court-ordered survey of the Mughal-era Shahi Jama Masjid on Sunday morning.

The mosque is at the centre of a contentious legal battle over claims that it was built on the site of a Hindu temple.

The protesters also set some vehicles on fire and threw stones at the police, who used tear gas and batons to disperse the mob. “Due to Barq’s statement earlier, the situation became worse here,” Superintendent of Police Krishan Kumar told a press conference. He said they were identifying the protestors using drone footage and that the accused would be charged under the stringent National Security Act (NSA).

Barq held the police responsible for the violence and called it a “part of a conspiracy”. “A murder case should be registered against them (police personnel) and action should be taken because they fired from private arms and not government arms,” he said. “Muslims were targeted and killed as part of a conspiracy,” the SP leader added.