Sambhal violence: Samajwadi Party MP Zia-ur-Rehman Barq denies allegations of instigation, blames police conspiracy
Samajwadi Party MP Zia-ur-Rehman Barq, named in an FIR for allegedly "instigating" stone pelting during a mosque survey in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, has denied the accusations, claiming he was out of town at the time of the incident.
Barq, who represents Sambhal in Parliament, told news agency ANI that he was in Bengaluru attending a meeting of the India Muslim Personal Law Board and had no presence in Sambhal during the violence.
Four people have been killed in the violence so far.
“I was not even in the state yesterday, let alone in Sambhal. I had gone to Bengaluru for a meeting, but a case was filed against me. This is a conspiracy by the police administration,” Barq said, adding that the entire situation had damaged the reputation of Uttar Pradesh and India as a whole.
The FIR accuses Barq of instigating the violence, which occurred during a court-ordered survey of a Mughal-era mosque in the area.
The incident led to four fatalities so far, with multiple people injured in the clashes. Barq, however, questioned how people could be accused of pelting stones when they were unaware of the survey team's arrival. He also accused the police of using weapons against the people, claiming that innocent lives were lost.
“In a well-orchestrated conspiracy, weapons were used, resulting in the murder of five innocent people and many others being injured. A false case has been filed against me. I demand that a murder case be registered against the officers responsible, and they should be jailed,” Barq stated.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday alleged that the Uttar Pradesh government orchestrated the "riot" in Sambhal and demanded that police officers and administrative officials responsible for the deaths be suspended and murder cases be filed against them.
Yadav's comments followed the filing of seven FIRs by the police naming Zia-ur-Rehman Barq and local SP MLA Iqbal Mehmood's son, Sohail Iqbal, as accused.
According to Yadav, the Yogi Adityanath-led government engaged in malpractice during the recent bypolls, looted votes, and engineered the trouble in Sambhal to divert attention from their actions.
He said, “Some people say that after watching 'The Sabarmati Report' movie, some BJP leaders thought they also want to become big leaders and orchestrated this in Sambhal," referring to the movie based on the Godhra incident.
Speaking to reporters after meeting Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla with his party MPs, Yadav expressed his concern over the violence in Sambhal.
"The incident is unfortunate. When our MP Zia-ur-Rehman was not even in Sambhal, why has an FIR been filed against him?" Yadav said, adding that three of the four people killed in Sunday’s violence were identified as Naeem, Bilal, and Nauman, all around 25 years old.
Yadav further claimed that information about the incident was being concealed. “I had said earlier that Naeem had lost his life due to police shooting. You have all the videos. This riot was orchestrated by the government,” he stated.
He criticised the court’s decision to order the survey without hearing all sides, alleging that the officials went ahead with the survey despite not fully understanding the order.
Yadav explained, “The survey was completed that day, and who gave the orders for a second survey? The masjid committee and others cooperated, but when people gathered outside and questioned the need for the survey, the circle officer abused them.”
He also claimed that when some people pelted stones, the police responded by opening fire.
Yadav held the government, police, and administration responsible for the violence. “Those responsible for vitiating Sambhal's atmosphere, filing this petition, and the police and administration must be held accountable. They should be suspended and murder cases filed so people can get justice,” he demanded.
The SP chief also raised concerns over the fairness of elections in Uttar Pradesh, alleging that Muslims were prevented from voting. “When we complained to the Election Commission, they took action against a few officials just for show. They should be asked why action was taken," Yadav said, reaffirming that his MP, Zia-ur-Rehman, was in Bengaluru at the time of the incident.
The management committee of Sambhal's Jama Masjid on Monday blamed the local authorities and police for the violence in the area that took four lives.
Zafar Ali, the president of the Shahi Jama Masjid management committee, made the allegations at a press conference and was detained by police as soon as the meeting ended.
"The recent survey of the mosque was not conducted under court orders but solely on the directions of the District Magistrate. This survey was carried out unlawfully," Ali claimed at the press conference.
"The culpable officials in this incident are Sambhal's Sub-Divisional Magistrate Vandana Mishra and Circle Officer Anuj Kumar," he said.
In Sambhal, Monday was tense but it went off peacefully. The streets around the Shahi Jama Masjid were deserted, there was heavy police presence in the entire area and patrolling was on.
Officials said traffic movement was normal and some shops had opened.
Several houses in the area where the clashes occurred were locked and no one was ready to talk to the media.
(With inputs from PTI, ANI)
