NEW DELHI — Amid signs of violence-hit Sambhal city in Uttar Pradesh limping back to normalcy, Samajwadi Party legislator Iqbal Mehmood’s son Nawab Suhail Iqbal, who has been named in an FIR over Sunday’s clashes, claimed on Tuesday that he is being wrongly implicated.
“I am innocent and have not done anything wrong. I wasn’t present at the spot, there is no photo or video to prove me guilty or to prove that I was present at the time of violence,” Suhail Iqbal said.
On Tuesday, law enforcers continued to maintain vigil in Sambhal while the internet remained suspended. Schools were allowed to reopen. Investigators were also scanning video footage of drones to identify the culprits.
Claiming that he was in regular touch with the administration to maintain peace, Suhail Iqbal said the entire Sambhal was like a family to him and demanded an inquiry into the killing of four innocent men in the violence on Sunday.
“I am completely committed to maintaining peace,” he said, denying any conspiracy along with Samajwadi Party MP Zia Ur Rehman Barq to foment trouble. He added that Barq was not even in the city when violence erupted on Sunday.
In one of the FIRs registered over the weekend violence, sources said, Samajwadi Party MP Zia Ur Rehman Barq has been named as accused number one and Suhail Iqbal has been named as accused number two.
It said that MP Zia Ur Rehman Barq incited the crowd for political gains. It highlighted the fact that two days before the violence, the MP visited the Jama Masjid without seeking permission from the local administration.
The FIR said that the MLA’s son, Nawab Suhail Iqbal, was also present among the protestors. He allegedly kept telling the rioters that the MP was with them and he would shield them from any adverse action.
Apart from the Barq and Iqbal, 2,750 people have been booked by Uttar Pradesh Police in the seven FIRs registered over the incidents leading up to the deadly violence on Sunday.
The FIRs have been registered under penal provisions dealing with unlawful assembly, use of criminal force against a public servant and acts endangering the life of others and promoting disharmony, sources said.
Four persons were killed and dozens, including 22 policemen, injured during protests on Sunday against a court-ordered survey of the Mughal-era Shahi Jama Masjid in connection with a petition claiming that it was built after razing a Hindu temple in 1529. –IANS