Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Sunday said that action will be taken against those who attempted to hinder the survey of the mosque which was being conducted by government and police personnel, who were following orders of the court.
Maurya’s remarks came in the wake of this morning’s incident in Samhal district of the State where police used tear gas shells and lathicharged a crowd after stones were pelted at an Archeological Survey of India team that had commenced its survey of a Mughal-era mosque amid heavy police deployment. Following this police resorted to lathi-charge and lobbed tear gas shells to disperse the protestors and caught hold of a few of them.
Speaking to ANI this moring the Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister said, “It is the duty of the government and the police to follow the instruction of the court and whoever hinders this, action will be taken against them.”
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party (SP) spokesperson Ameeque Jamei alleged that the BJP had resorted back to its ‘gameplay’ post elections. Accusing the party of creating a “divide” between communities, Jamei said, “BJP is working to spread poison in Hindu-Muslim society.”
“For the past week, the issue of the Sambhal mosque has been reignited, allegedly at the prompting of the police administration and the BJP government and the survey is being carried out once again by the ASI. All this after, the BJP was claiming that they received the votes of the Muslim community in Kundarki,” said Jamei. In the Muslim-dominated Kundarki Assembly seat Ramveer Thakur had bagged victory in the recent polls.
Further the SP leader said, “The Places of Worship Act 1991, says except for Babri Masjid and Ram Mandir dispute, any structure in the country cannot be changed, nor can any action be taken over it. Even after the Ram Mandir and Babri Masjid dispute, BJP has again begun its ‘game’ just right after the elections. BJP is working to spread poison in Hindu-Muslim society.”
Congress leader Udit Raj said, “This should end, this is a very wrong trend.”
The Sambhal Superintendent of Police (SP) Krishan Kumar arrived at the site of the stone pelting incident and along with other officials attempted to control the situation.
The stone-pelting incident targeting the survey team in Sambhal escalated and led to vehicles being set on fire and significant property damage in the area.
A survey team that arrived at the Shahi Jama Masjid to conduct a survey of the mosque in Sambhal district amid heavy police deployment faced stone-pelting from some “anti-social elements” on Sunday morning, police said.
Police used tear gas to control the situation in the area.
Director General of Police (DGP) Uttar Pradesh, Prashant Kumar said that the situation has been brought under control.
Speaking to ANI, DGP Kumar said, “A survey is being conducted in Sambhal on the orders of the court. Some anti-social elements have pelted stones. Police and senior officers are present on the spot. The situation is under control, the police will identify the stone pelters and take appropriate legal action.
The mosque was surveyed on November 19 on the orders of a local court following a petition filed by senior advocate Vishnu Shanker Jained who claimed that a temple originally stood at the site.
The survey was conducted with local police and members of the mosque’s management committee present to oversee the process.