Survey of Sambhal mosque not done in haste but on orders of advocate commissioner, says lawyer of Hindu side

Sambhal (UP): The second survey of Sambhal's Jama Masjid was not conducted in haste but on the orders of the advocate commissioner, the lawyer of the Hindu side claimed on Wednesday.

He was responding to the allegation of the mosque's management committee that the second survey of the mosque was not conducted under court orders but solely on the directions of the district magistrate.

"The decision on the second survey was not done in haste. It was done on order of the advocate commissioner," lawyer Gopal Sharma claimed.

Addressing a press conference on Monday, president of the Shahi Jama Masjid management committee Zafar Ali had alleged that the recent survey of the mosque was carried out "unlawfully".

Sharma claimed he was also an eyewitness to the incident on Sunday.

"I feel that it was pre-planned. At that time, three advocates from the other side, committee members, the head of the mosque and the Imam were also present at the mosque. They also appealed for peace from the mosque. Photography was being done from the top," he said.

Sharma said the protesters also threw stones at them but as the mosque was at some height, they could reach there.

"The police chased them away many times but they kept throwing bricks and stones at the police. They also fired at the police. Many policemen were hit by pellets. All those people had their faces covered," Sharma claimed.

He said now the matter will be heard in the court on November 29 and the advocate commissioner will submit his report in presence of both the sides.

On charges that draining water from the ablution tank (wazukhana) led to a confusion among those gathered outside as they believed excavation was taking place and it provoked the crowd, Sharma said it was emptied every week.

"Had it not been emptied, how its videography would have been done," he asked.

Sharma said till 1978, the Hindu side also used to go there (mosque premises) for worship but after the riots in 1978, the Hindu side stopped going there.

He said an ASI board has also been installed here and it is an ASI protected area.

"ASI also conducts a survey twice every year. Since it is an ASI protected area, it is not appropriate to offer namaz there," he said.

Ali had on Monday blamed the local authorities and the police for the violence in the district's Kot area that claimed four lives.

"The culpable officials in this incident are Sambhal's Sub-Divisional Magistrate Vandana Mishra and Circle Officer Anuj Kumar," he had added.

Ali also alleged that the SDM insisted on draining water from the ablution tank (wazukhana), even though the district magistrate and superintendent of police suggested measuring the depth with a stick.

"Draining the water led to a confusion among those gathered outside, who believed excavation was taking place and it provoked the crowd," he had said.

Meanwhile, talking to reporters, Samajwadi Party MLA Iqbal Mahmood, whose son Sohail Mahmoob has been named in the violence FIR, said that he has no objection to the advocate commissioner, it is the right of the court.

He however said, "How can a court pass an order without hearing the other party? The decision was given in 4 hours that there will be an advocate commission. The commission also came prepared the report. We did not get a chance to answer and give clarification that we should get legally."

On being asked why the crowd got agitated, Iqbal Mahmood said that it was a misunderstanding, when the police gathered near Jama Masjid, people became curious.

"When people gathered, the police lathi-charged and someone threw bricks from behind and then the police fired bullets. When water came out of the wazukhana of the mosque, people thought that digging was going on," he said.

On being asked about an FIR registered against his son, Iqbal Mahmood said, "Phat police should show us his footage. If he has instigated, if he has made any speech, if he is in the crowd and his photo comes we will consider him guilty." When asked that the police will release the photos of masked people, he said that when tear gas shells are fired by the police and it goes inside the nose, then the person who had a handkerchief puts it on their mouth.

"If I call them masked then I do not think it is correct," he added.

Chaos reigned in Sambhal city's Kot Garvi area on Sunday as people opposing the court-ordered survey of the Jama Masjid clashed with police, resulting in the death of four persons.

The clashes, which involved gunfire and stone-pelting, also left 20 people injured, including Sub-Divisional Magistrate Ramesh Chandra. Seven FIRs have been filed so far, and 25 individuals have been arrested in connection with the incident.

Tensions in Sambhal had been simmering since a local court ordered a survey of the mosque on November 19. The survey team revisited the mosque on Sunday for further investigations.

The survey followed a petition in a local court, claiming that the site of the mosque was previously a Harihar temple.