The northern Indian city of Sambhal is on high alert after violent clashes over a centuries-old mosque left four people dead and dozens injured on Sunday.
The unrest erupted during a court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid, a 16th-century federally protected monument.
The survey was initiated after a petition alleged the mosque had been built on the ruins of a destroyed temple.
Authorities in Uttar Pradesh, where Sambhal is located, have filed four cases related to the violence, suspended internet services, and closed schools in the area for a day.
Videos and photos from the clashes, widely shared on social media, show debris such as bricks and slippers strewn around the mosque.
Protesters claim police fired on the crowd, resulting in four deaths, a charge denied by officials. “No weapons were used that could take anyone’s life,” Superintendent of Police Krishan Kumar told The Hindu newspaper.
The dispute over the Shahi Jama Masjid is part of a broader trend in India, where Hindu groups have claimed that mosques built during the Mughal era replaced demolished temples.
Muslim groups are contesting these claims in various courts.
Tensions in Sambhal began earlier in the week after a local court ordered a video-recorded survey of the mosque.
The petition claimed Mughal emperor Babur had destroyed the Hari Har temple in the 1520s to construct the mosque.
The first survey was conducted on Tuesday, prompting protests from Muslim groups, who alleged they were not given prior notice and questioned the urgency of the court order.
On Sunday, a second survey turned violent when a large group of protesters gathered near the mosque and chanted slogans at the survey team.
Police reported that stones were thrown at officers, forcing them to respond with tear gas and plastic bullets to ensure the survey team’s safety.
“We had no choice but to use force to disperse the crowd,” senior police official Aunjaneya Kumar Singh told The Hindu.
Opposition leaders accused the state’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of using the controversy to incite violence for political purposes.
However, Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak dismissed the allegations, stating, “No one is allowed to take the law into their own hands,” and adding that an investigation is underway.
Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind president Mahmood Madani condemned the disputes over mosques, asserting that they violated Indian laws.
Source-BBC
