NEW DELHI: A management committee of Jama Masjid in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal has moved to the Supreme Court against the mosque survey order given by a local court.
Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna-led bench will be hearing the petition of Sambhal Jama Masjid on Friday, reported news agency ANI.
On Sunday, clashes between protesters opposing the court-ordered Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid and the police left three people dead and several others, including security personnel and officials, injured. A fourth injured person succumbed to injuries on Monday.
Tension in the area has been rising since November 19, when the Jama Masjid was first surveyed on court orders following a petition claiming that a Harihar temple once stood at the site.
On Wednesday, police released photos of nearly 100 people, including several minors, for identification in order to check their alleged involvement in the violence.
Officials said the photos, obtained using footage from CCTV cameras and videos, will be displayed in public areas across Sambhal and circulated on social media.
An official spokesperson for the Uttar Pradesh government added, “The state will recover damages for public property destroyed from those involved in the violence. Posters of stone pelters and miscreants will be displayed at public locations, and a reward may be announced for information leading to arrests. The govt is taking a firm stance against those responsible for the unrest.”
After the violence, police filed an FIR naming Samajwadi Party’s Sambhal MP Zia-ur-Rahman Barq and MLA Iqbal Mahmood’s son Sohail Mahmood for inciting violence in the city on Sunday.
The FIR also accuses advocate Zafar Ali, part of the mosque’s management committee, of leaking information about the second survey to the accused lawmakers, allegedly aiding their preparations for resistance.