Mob intended to attack survey team, says court commissioner

Sambhal: A day after the Uttar Pradesh Assembly tabled the judicial commission’s report on the November 2024 Sambhal violence, Court Commissioner Ramesh Raghav alleged that the mob had intended to attack the survey team and prevent the court-ordered exercise, while the Hindu side called for a detailed debate on the panel’s findings in the House.

The judicial commission, constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government after the violence, concluded that the clashes during the court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid were the result of a pre-planned conspiracy and praised the police and civil administration for preventing the unrest from escalating into wider communal riots across the state and the country. Shahi Jama Masjid Intazamia Committee president Zafar Ali declined to comment on the report.

Advocate Gopal Sharma, appearing for the Hindu side in the mosque-temple dispute, said the report should be discussed in detail in the Assembly. “The commission, headed by retired Justice Devendra Kumar Arora and comprising retired DGP Arvind Kumar Jain and retired IAS officer Amit Mohan Prasad, conducted a thorough probe, inspected the site and recorded statements of all stakeholders before reaching its conclusions. Every aspect of the report deserves detailed discussion in the House,” Sharma told reporters.

Recalling the survey proceedings, Sharma said he was present on both days — November 19 and November 24, 2024. “On November 19, the survey remained incomplete after a large number of people entered the mosque premises and obstructed the exercise. We requested the district administration to make arrangements for the remaining survey, which was resumed on November 24.