On Saturday (28th December), local women in Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh performed Navgrah Puja at the construction site of the new police post being built in front of the Jama Masjid.
During the Puja, the women created Navgrah symbols with flour and lit lamps. Speaking to the media, the women expressed that the construction of a police post in the area has made them feel safer.
Notably, the Sambhal administration has decided to establish a police post in front of the Jama Masjid in Sambhal. The decision to build a police post at the said location was taken on Friday (27th December) and the construction work began the next day.
The police post has been named ‘Satyavrat Police Post’. Bhoomi Puja was conducted on Saturday morning to mark the beginning of the construction. Later, during the night, a group of women came to perform traditional rituals.
संभल की जामा मस्जिद के सामने पुलिस चौकी बनाई जा रही है। मुल्क के किसी भी कोने में चले जाइए, वहाँ की सरकार ना तो स्कूल खुलवाती है, ना अस्पताल। अगर कुछ बनाया जाता है तो वो है पुलिस चौकी और शराब खाने। सरकार के पास किसी और चीज़ के लिए पैसे नहीं होते, बस पुलिस चौकी और शराब खाने के लिए…
— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) December 28, 2024
One of the women said, “We feel safer with the police post here and came to light lamps before visiting the temple. We placed lamps on the Navgrah symbols we created.”
While the local women have expressed pleasure over the decision to establish a police post in the area, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi criticised the idea.
Criticising the construction of a police post in front of the Jama Masjid in Sambhal, Owaisi wrote on the social media platform X that the government spends money on police posts and liquor stores but not on schools and hospitals.
Owaisi said, “A police post is being constructed in front of the Jama Masjid in Sambhal. No matter where you go in the country, the government neither builds schools nor hospitals. What they do construct are police posts and liquor stores. The government seems to have no funds for anything else, but there’s always money for police posts and liquor stores. Data itself reveals that areas with Muslim populations receive the least government facilities.”
Notably, the Sambhal administration and police started a crackdown on illegal activities in the region after violence broke out on 24th November 2024 during a court-mandated survey at the Jama Masjid. Since the crackdown began, it has been revealed that the Member of Parliament from Sambhal, Samajwadi Party leader Zia-ur-Rahman Barq, was allegedly stealing electricity. Furthermore, an illegal power station was discovered by the authorities at a mosque in the area, from where electricity was being provided illegally to around 100 houses.
The Sambhal administration also found an encroached temple, which was freed and cleaned by the local police, after which Puja was performed. Furthermore, the administration has discovered an ancient Baori. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) team was called to inspect the Baori, where excavation work has been carried out. Earlier, ASI team surveyed Kalki Vishnu Mandir, 5 shrines, 19 wells and Shiv-Hanuman Mandir in Sambhal. Most of these sites have either been rediscovered or have been freed from the illegal encroachment done by local Muslim families.
Court-ordered survey at Jama Masjid in Sambhal and violence that erupted on 24th November
On 19th November, a court-mandated survey was conducted at Jama Masjid in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh. The court ordered the survey in response to a petition filed by Supreme Court Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, and seven co-plaintiffs, asserting that the mosque occupies the site of a temple dedicated to Bhagwan Kalki. The site in question is a protected monument under the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act of 1904. The survey was carried out under the supervision of Advocate Commission. A heavy police force was deployed in the area to ensure the survey proceeded peacefully.
However, on 24th November, during the second round of court-mandated survey at Jama Masjid, Islamist mobsters gathered outside the mosque and engaged in violence. They pelted stones at police, opened fire at police personnel and set ablaze vehicles and shops. At least 20 police personnel were injured during violence and four mobsters were killed in the mayhem, likely from illegal guns carried by rioters.
The Supreme Court of India stayed the hearing in the District Court, Sambhal, in response to plea filed by the Muslim side. Furthermore, the survey report submitted by the Advocate Commissioner has been ordered to be sealed and not to be opened till an order is passed by the High Court in the matter. Next hearing in the matter will be in January 2025. A judicial committee was formed by CM Yogi Adityanath to investigate the cause of the violence.
OpIndia’s detailed report on petition filed at the court can be checked here.