Topic: Sambhal

The Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to three Muslim men, Danish, Faizan, and Nazir, accused in connection with the protest that broke out on November 24 last year during a court-ordered survey of the Jama Masjid in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, during which police opened fire on protesters alleging violence, killing at least five Muslim men.

Days after the administration in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal district identified a mosque and around 80 houses as allegedly built on a pond meant for public use, local MP Zia Ur Rehman Barq has come out strongly against the move, calling the notices “hasty” and accusing the authorities of targeting residents.

In Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal district, authorities on Thursday demolished a mosque in Rayee Buzurg village and claimed it was illegally constructed on government pond land.

The three-member judicial commission set up last year to investigate the Sambhal protest — in which five Muslims were killed and several others injured in police firing on protesters — has submitted its report to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday. The submission has triggered speculation that the findings point to a “demographic shift” in the region.

The Allahabad High Court directed the Uttar Pradesh government not to demolish the building of Azad Jannat Nisha School, a long-standing educational institution in Alam Sarai, Sambhal, after the legal heirs of those who had sold the land 46 years ago, along with local Hindutva groups, claimed ownership of the property.

The Allahabad High Court on Monday rejected the Sambhal Shahi Mosque Committee’s plea challenging the trial court’s order, which had directed the appointment of an Advocate Commissioner to survey the mosque in connection with a suit alleging that the mosque was constructed after demolishing a temple.