Sambhal violence: Akhilesh Yadav alleges well-planned conspiracy, demands murder case against cops

New Delhi: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday said the violence in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal was part of a "well-planned" conspiracy and that the talk of "khudai" (digging) across the country by the BJP and its associates will end up hurting communal amity.

Raising the issue in the Lok Sabha, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister squarely blamed the local police and administration for the recent violence in Sambhal.

He alleged that police personnel fired from official and personal weapons, killing five innocent people and injuring dozens after some locals pelted stones at them to protest their high-handedness.

The MP from Kannauj demanded the suspension of guilty officials and registration of a murder case against them to ensure that there is no such "violation" of the Constitution again.

Akhilesh Yadav, amid occasional interruptions from the treasury benches, suggested that the BJP's inner politics was also at work and claimed that it was a "battle" between Delhi and Lucknow.

While the SP president spoke in the Lok Sabha, his uncle and Ram Gopal Yadav raised the matter in the Rajya Sabha and echoed similar views.

Ram Gopal Yadav said Sambhal was converted into a police zone and people were baffled why it was being done.

At one point, water started flowing out of the mosque and people thought some mischief was happening inside. Peace was disturbed with police opening fire, in which five people were killed and several injured, he said.

Ram Gopal Yadav, however, failed to complete his speech and Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said certain parts of his statement would not go on record. At this, the SP and some other opposition parties staged a walkout.

In his speech in the Lok Sabha, Akhilesh Yadav claimed the violence was part of a "well-planned" conspiracy.

The Uttar Pradesh bypolls were first shifted to November 20 from November 13 and a local civil judge (senior division) ordered the survey of the Mughal-era Shahi Jama Masjid on the same day a petition was filed claiming that a temple once stood at the site, he elaborated.

The court passed the order on November 19 without listening to the mosque committee and it is surprising that the local administration reached for the survey within a couple of hours, he said.

"It is not without basis when we say that the government does not follow the Constitution," he said.

Everyone cooperated and the survey was completed. Muslim groups started preparing to argue their case in the next hearing on November 29, the SP president said.

However, the administration said on November 23 that another survey would be carried out the next day. Muslim groups suggested that another survey should be done only after the court passes another direction but the administration was "dictatorial", he said.

While the mosque committee showed patience during the survey on November 24, the circle officer abused locals and ordered a lathi-charge when asked for reasons by locals, Akhilesh Yadav alleged.

A few people then threw stones, resulting in police personnel firing at them, he said.

However, police have claimed that they did not fire bullets. The Uttar Pradesh government has ordered a judicial probe into the matter.

On Hindu groups in parts of the country raising the issue of some mosques, including the famous shrine of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer, being built after allegedly demolishing Hindu temples, Akhilesh Yadav said this talk of digging across the country will end up hurting the communal amity, brotherhood and "Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb".

He made a brief mention of the Places of Worship (Special Provision) Act which provides for the maintenance of religious character of places of worship as it existed on August 15, 1947.

Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) MP E T Mohammed Basheer said this Act is now under threat and described the Sambhal incident as shocking.

"The peaceful coexistence (of different communities) in this country is becoming more and more difficult. We have to preserve our secularism," he said.

Basheer alleged the government is supporting the campaign aimed at targeting mosques and demanded a comprehensive inquiry by a judicial commission.

Akhilesh Yadav also spoke outside Parliament and said the Uttar Pradesh government was behind the incident.

The BJP should look at Kailash Mansarovar, a Hindu pilgrimage site located in China, instead of "digging" everywhere. A day might come when China might not allow Indians to go for darshan, he said.