Team Clarion
NEW DELHI – Initially after claiming that the police did not fire on protestors during a court-ordered survey of the Jama Masjid in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal, the police now have acknowledged that indeed they used bullets but maintained that they fired “warning shots in the air” during the unrest.
The violence broke out on November 24 following protests by a group of Muslims who objected to the survey. The protests led to clashes with the police, and at least five individuals lost their lives.
More than two weeks after the violence, the district’s Superintendent of Police (SP) Krishan Kumar Bishnoi has stated that autopsies of three of the deceased revealed they had suffered gunshot wounds from a .315 bore firearm, although the police had used only pellet guns. However, Bishnoi later told The Indian Express that the police had fired in the air to disperse the crowd, not directly at the protesters.
When asked about videos showing police firing during the incident, Bishnoi acknowledged the footage but stated that an investigation was underway to determine who fired the two shots seen in the video.
A video circulating on social media appears to show police firing at the crowd during the protests. The parents of Naeem, one of the victims, have alleged that he was killed by police gunfire. However, Moradabad Divisional Commissioner Aunjaneya Kumar Singh denied these claims, suggesting that the deaths were still under investigation. Singh mentioned that the police had suffered injuries from bullet fragments, implying that the situation was more complex than the simple firing of police weapons.
Singh further stated that the violence involved three groups firing at each other, but the police’s priority was to restore order and peace. He also emphasised that the responsibility to prevent violence lay with the families, urging them to stop their children from engaging in violent actions.
The mosque survey was ordered by a local court in response to a petition claiming that the mosque, constructed in 1526 by Mughal ruler Babur, was built over a “centuries-old Shri Hari Har Temple.” This controversial survey and the violence that followed have drawn attention to religious tensions in the region.
The first round of the survey was conducted on November 19, the day the petition was filed and heard at the district court, but authorities said they could not complete it satisfactorily.
Divisional Commissioner Singh said authorities did not anticipate such a huge crowd during the second survey. “Keeping in mind that during the first round of the survey, only 50 men had gathered at the mosque site, we deployed the police force. We could not foresee violence of any kind. We had taken the committee members (of Shahi Jama Masjid) into confidence, and we believed that if things go out of hand, we could use dialogue,” Singh was quoted by The Indian Express as saying.
In total, 32 people have been arrested in connection with the violence, and over 400 individuals have been identified as suspects. District Magistrate Rajender Pensiya confirmed these details, highlighting ongoing investigations.
