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Sambhal: The police and city administration are in high alert mode on the completion of one year of the bloody violence during the survey of Jama Masjid in the city. Security has been tightened across the district and security vigil has been increased. The police department is on high alert while additional forces have been deployed in areas hit by unrest last year.
CCTV cameras have been installed at the violence site and the areas around Jama Masjid. Live monitoring of all the cameras is being done from the control room located at Satyavrat Chowki near the mosque. Officials are continuously observing the footage and coordinating with ground teams to ensure preparedness for any situation.
Sambhal Police has made a multi-layered security plan. RAF troops, PAC personnel and local police units are patrolling the entire area. Additional forces have been deployed at various locations considered sensitive. According to officials, these steps have been taken to ensure that law and order is maintained in every situation.
The Jama Masjid in Sambhal was built between 1526 and 1530 during the reign of the first Mughal emperor Babur. The controversy over the mosque began when lawyer Vishnu Shankar Jain and others filed a petition in the court, claiming that the Jama Masjid stands on the ruins of a temple dedicated to Lord Kalki. Jain, who is also involved in the Gyanvapi and Krishna Janmabhoomi cases, argued that the mosque was built after the destruction of a temple during Babur’s invasion in 1526-27. The petition cited historical texts like Baburnama and Ain-e-Akbari to support its claim.
Acting on the petition, the court ordered a survey of the mosque on November 19, 2024. Advocate Commissioner Ramesh Raghav along with the district administration and police personnel conducted the survey on the same day. The speedy proceedings were criticized, with some alleging judicial overreach and procedural flaws.
The Muslim community, including the Jama Masjid Management Committee, strongly opposed this survey. He cited the Places of Worship Act, 1991, which prohibits changing the status of any religious place as it existed on August 15, 1947. Samajwadi Party MP from Sambhal Ziaur Rehman Burke condemned the action, calling it a threat to communal harmony.
Tension increased with a second survey scheduled for 24 November. Protests broke out near the mosque as hundreds of locals gathered to protest the survey, fearing a repeat of the Babri Masjid demolition. The demonstration soon turned violent, with protesters pelting stones and setting vehicles on fire.
Several vehicles were set on fire and property around the mosque was damaged. Internet services were suspended, prohibitory orders were imposed and schools were closed for a day to prevent the matter from escalating further.
In particular, Sambhal holds religious significance for Hindus as it is considered to be the birthplace of Kalki, the tenth and last incarnation of Vishnu. Hindu scriptures state that Kalki will appear in Sambhal to end Kaliyuga, the age of “moral decline”. Earlier this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the grand Kalki Dham, and said Kalki’s arrival would “determine the course of thousands of years.”
–IANS