No Entry for outsiders in Sambhal till…, days after violence during mosque survey

In order to maintain law and order the Sambhal district administration has prohibited the entry of outsiders till December 10.

Lucknow: In the latest development after the Sambhal Masjid violence, the district administration has issued an order prohibiting the entry of outsiders into the district until December 10. The order was implemented to maintain law and order following the violence during a court-ordered mosque survey. Notably, the order was imposed after a Samajwadi Party delegation heading to Sambhal was detained on Saturday.

Responding on the development, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav slammed the BJP government, accusing it of misgovernance. The saffron party retaliated, stating that the violence took place in the district due to “criminals protected by Samajwadi Party”.

Sambhal Masjid Violence

At least five people were dead and 20 police officials were injured on November 24 following the violence triggered by a court-ordered survey at Mughal-era Shahi Jama Masjid.

District Magistrate Rajendra Pandiya has decided to prolong the ban on the entry of outsiders, social bodies, and public officials into Sambhal up until the 10th of December. Without gaining permission from the sanctioned officer, no public representative will be granted passage into the district’s confines before this date. Initially, this ban was slated to conclude on the 1st of December.

‘Will Enter Sambhal In Hiding’: SP

SP Member of Parliament Harendra Malik, who was on course from Delhi to Sambhal, was unexpectedly held back at the Ghaziabad border. He said that the delegation’s journey was not meant to disturb the current ambience. Even if the police threw obstacles their way, Malik stated they were resolute in their attempt to penetrate the district.

“We want to go and take stock of the situation. We will also tell the government what happened there. The government should then investigate our findings. We do not trust Sambhal’s police administration. We are responsible. Our visit will not spoil the atmosphere. We are not going to provoke people,” he told news agency ANI.

Either the administration should let us go to Sambhal or else we will go into hiding. We will go and stay in Sambhal,” he said.

Samajwadi Party Delegation Detained

Meanwhile, a 15-member Samajwadi Party leaders’ delegation, that was on its way to Sambhal was detained by the police. They started protesting against the district administration’s order prohibiting them from visiting the violence-hit district.

Samajwadi Party MP Zia Ur Rehman Barq strongly reprimanded the BJP government, accusing it of shielding the police’s misconduct by barring the delegation’s entry into Sambhal.