LUCKNOW: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Uttar Pradesh Police has filed a 4,000-page charge sheet in six of the 12 cases related to the November 24 violence in Sambhal. The unrest erupted during the Archaeological Survey of India’s (ASI) survey of the Mughal-era Jama Masjid, following a local court order.
The charge sheet, filed on Thursday, names a Dubai-based international auto-lifter, Shariq Satha, as the mastermind behind the violence. The accused face charges of rioting, arson, and firing, with investigations tracing links to organised crime and foreign funding.
The violence led to the deaths of four people and left several others, including police personnel, injured. Among the arrested individuals are three women. A woman named Farhana, initially accused, was released after no evidence was found against her.
The FIR registered after the violence named Sambhal MP Zai-ur-Rehman Barq and SP MLA Iqbal Mahmood’s son, Sohail Iqbal, for allegedly provoking the crowd to pelt stones at the survey team and the accompanying police personnel. While the charge sheet has been filed in six cases, it is yet to be filed in case number 335, in which the MP and the MLA’s son are named.
According to the charge sheet, 80 arrests have been made, while 79 suspects remain at large. A total of 159 individuals have been accused in the case. The document also states that weapons recovered from the violence site and other locations were manufactured in the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, and Czechoslovakia.
The charge sheet has been submitted in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Archana Singh for six cases—five related to Kotwali Sambhal and two to the Nakkhasa police station area.
Sambhal Superintendent of Police Krishna Kumar Bishnoi said, “A total of 12 cases have been registered so far... out of which police have filed charge sheets in six cases in connection with the November 24 violence in the district.”
“There was an attempt by the miscreants to set fire to the personal bike and the government car of a station in charge. The bike was saved from burning, but the government car was completely destroyed. A charge sheet has been filed against a total of 23 people in this case,” he added.
Authorities recovered a cache of firearms, including one 9mm pistol, three 32mm pistols, one 32mm magazine, one 9mm magazine, three 12-bore country-made guns, five live 9mm cartridges, one live 315-bore cartridge, seven live 12-bore cartridges, one live 22-bore cartridge, and one live 32-bore cartridge.
Police sources revealed that fugitive Shariq Satha orchestrated the violence from Dubai. His involvement came to light following the arrests of his two associates, Mulla Afroz and Mohammad Waris. A senior police official stated that Satha planned the unrest as part of a conspiracy to establish dominance in the region.