There was “no firing from the police side” during the violence that erupted in Sambhal on 24th November of last year after a legal survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid and illegal weapons were used in the incident, reported The Indian Express which cited sources. These alarming disclosures and many others have been made in ballistics assessment of the empty shells and the weapons recovered from the site following the unrest. The findings have been forwarded to the Sambhal police.
However, the account is ambiguous on the four fatalities caused by the bullets because they “passed through,” or left, the bodies after being shot. Empty shells were discovered at the scene of the violence and the employed weapons were confiscated from the accused’s seized possession. According to an officer, weapons were sent for forensic analysis, along with live and empty cartridges that were collected on the scene and from the perpetrators who were arrested in the case.
No ammunition was discovered in the corpses of the four victims of the assault, a top official noted. “More findings about matching of the firearms and the cartridges are awaited for final confirmation,” he added. The police sources unveield that raids are underway to track down about 70 people “whose involvement surfaced during the probe.” A Muslim mob gathered near the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal on 24th November and attacked the police after the court ordered a survey of the mosque, which dates back to the 16th century. According to an officer, weapons were sent for forensic analysis, along with live and empty cartridges found on the scene and from the individuals who were taken into custody in the case.
On 3rd December, in a significant breakthrough, the forensic team even located cartridges made in Pakistan and the USA from the violence-hit area in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh. According to media reports, police uncovered Sambhal violence’s link to Pakistan after discovering an empty cartridge manufactured in the Pakistan Ordnance Factory. The cartridge was recovered alongside five others from a drain at the site of the 24th November violence.
