– Akhilesh Tripathi
Lucknow: A Samajwadi Party delegation visited Sambhal to offer condolences and financial assistance of ₹5 lakh to the families of those killed in the violence on November 24. The violence, sparked by a dispute over the re-survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid, resulted in five deaths, reportedly from gunshot wounds. Local authorities claim these deaths
were caused by bullets fired by the crowd, denying that police firing was responsible.
Despite the severity of the situation, no financial support has been provided to the victims’ families by the government, as the authorities continue to blame the crowd for the deaths. In total, five people lost their lives: Ayaan and Naeem from Mohalla Kotgarvi, Roman from Hayatnagar, Bilal from Saraitareen, and Kaif from Turti Pur Ilha. Roman’s family buried him without pursuing legal action, but the other families filed murder reports, yet have not received any financial compensation.
Initially, the SP attempted to visit Sambhal twice to provide aid and highlight the victims’ suffering, but both efforts were blocked by the local administration. When senior leader Mata Prasad Pandey led a third attempt, he and other SP leaders were placed under house arrest and prevented from entering the area. The administration then imposed a ban on any political visits until December 10.
During the UP Assembly session, the SP criticised the Yogi Adityanath-led government for its handling of the violence in Sambhal and Bahraich. When the government failed to respond to the allegations, both the SP and Congress created a ruckus in the Assembly, leading to an indefinite adjournment of the session. December 10 passed without action.
Afterward, the SP announced plans to visit Sambhal once more. The administration allowed the delegation to meet the victims’ families at a guest house but restricted access to the families’ homes. On December 30, the SP delegation, led by Leader of the Opposition Mata Prasad Pandey, included several other prominent party members, such as Lal Bahadur Yadav, Ruchi Vira, Ziaur Rahman Barq, Iqra Hassan, Harendra Malik, Neeraj Maurya, Iqbal Mehmood, Pinky Yadav, Kamal Akhtar, and Asgar Ali.
At the guest house, the delegation met the families of all five victims, expressed condolences, and provided ₹5 lakh in financial aid to each family. Ziaur Rahman Barq, SP MP from Sambhal, strongly criticised the local administration and police, accusing them of targeting him unfairly. He stated:
“During the unrest, I was in Bengaluru attending an event. I wasn’t even in Sambhal, yet an FIR was filed against me. This has exposed the administration and police. They even filed another FIR accusing me of electricity theft, attempting to falsely implicate me.”
Barq further questioned the role of the police and administration, claiming they acted in the interests of BJP rather than the state government. He accused them of focusing on locating temples to please the UP government rather than fulfilling their responsibilities. He also expressed concern that their actions were damaging the reputation of the Muslim community.
In his criticism of the Yogi government, Barq highlighted its anti-Muslim policies, pointing to the denial of financial assistance to the victims’ families as evidence of the BJP’s bias. He labelled this behaviour as hypocritical and said it further tarnished the party’s image.
