The Crossbill Team
A judicial commission appointed by the Uttar Pradesh government has concluded that the violence that broke out during the survey of Sambhal's Shahi Jama Masjid in November 2024 was the result of a "pre-planned conspiracy", while giving the police a clean chit over allegations that its personnel fired the bullets which killed four people.
The 854-page report, tabled in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly on Wednesday, was prepared by a three-member panel headed by retired High Court judge Justice Devendra Kumar Arora, with retired IPS officer Arvind Kumar Jain and retired IAS officer Amit Mohan Prasad as members. The commission submitted its findings in 2025 after investigating the circumstances surrounding the clashes.
The violence erupted on November 24, 2024, during a court-ordered survey of the 16th-century Shahi Jama Masjid. Protesters clashed with police, leading to arson and widespread unrest in which at least four people were killed and several others, including police personnel, sustained injuries.
The report says that the violence was not spontaneous but a pre-planned conspiracy, alleging that efforts had been made over time to create an atmosphere conducive to unrest.
The commission has referred to the alleged roles of several individuals, including Sambhal Samajwadi Party MP Zia-ur-Rehman Barq, and Suhail Iqbal, son of local SP MLA Iqbal Mahmood.
According to the findings, the bullets that killed the four victims were not fired from police weapons, contradicting allegations made by opposition leaders and the mosque management that police had opened fire on protesters. The panel concluded that Sambhal police did not use lethal firearms during the operation.
Police had consistently denied firing live ammunition, maintaining that personnel used only rubber pellets, tear gas and lathi-charge to disperse the crowd. They had also claimed that the four people who died from gunshot wounds were struck by bullets fired from country-made weapons, suggesting that members of the mob may have shot at each other.
The controversy stemmed from a court-ordered survey of the Mughal-era mosque. The first survey was conducted on November 19, 2024, less than three hours after a civil judge (senior division) issued the order, while a second round was held on November 24, when the violence broke out.
A copy of the probe report, which was submitted in 2025, was tabled in the UP Assembly on August 5, The Wire reported.
The commission was tasked with inquiring whether the incident was “sudden or well planned and the result of a criminal conspiracy,” and due to what “reasons and circumstances” the incident took place.
The 854-page report, tabled in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly on Wednesday, was prepared by a three-member panel headed by retired High Court judge Justice Devendra Kumar Arora, with retired IPS officer Arvind Kumar Jain and retired IAS officer Amit Mohan Prasad as members. The commission submitted its findings in 2025 after investigating the circumstances surrounding the clashes.
The violence erupted on November 24, 2024, during a court-ordered survey of the 16th-century Shahi Jama Masjid. Protesters clashed with police, leading to arson and widespread unrest in which at least four people were killed and several others, including police personnel, sustained injuries.
The report says that the violence was not spontaneous but a pre-planned conspiracy, alleging that efforts had been made over time to create an atmosphere conducive to unrest.
The commission has referred to the alleged roles of several individuals, including Sambhal Samajwadi Party MP Zia-ur-Rehman Barq, and Suhail Iqbal, son of local SP MLA Iqbal Mahmood.
According to the findings, the bullets that killed the four victims were not fired from police weapons, contradicting allegations made by opposition leaders and the mosque management that police had opened fire on protesters. The panel concluded that Sambhal police did not use lethal firearms during the operation.
Police had consistently denied firing live ammunition, maintaining that personnel used only rubber pellets, tear gas and lathi-charge to disperse the crowd. They had also claimed that the four people who died from gunshot wounds were struck by bullets fired from country-made weapons, suggesting that members of the mob may have shot at each other.
The controversy stemmed from a court-ordered survey of the Mughal-era mosque. The first survey was conducted on November 19, 2024, less than three hours after a civil judge (senior division) issued the order, while a second round was held on November 24, when the violence broke out.
A copy of the probe report, which was submitted in 2025, was tabled in the UP Assembly on August 5, The Wire reported.
The commission was tasked with inquiring whether the incident was “sudden or well planned and the result of a criminal conspiracy,” and due to what “reasons and circumstances” the incident took place.
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