Sambhal Violence: Ban on Outsiders' Entry Extended to December 10

Lucknow: In a bid to maintain peace and order in the district, the administration on Saturday extended the ban on the entry of outsiders into Sambhal to December 10.

The extension came on a day a 15-member Samajwadi Party delegation was scheduled to visit Sambhal to gather information about the violence that broke out over a court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid.

The administration's earlier ban on the entry of outsiders was to expire on Saturday.

Curbs under Section 163 (power to issue order in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger) of the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, set to expire on Sunday, were extended to December 31.

In a statement issued in Lucknow, District Magistrate Rajendra Pensiya said, "To maintain peace and order, the imposition of Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita in the district has been extended to December 31." "No outsider, any social organisation or public representative can enter into the borders of the district without seeking the permission of the competent authority till December 10," he added.

Tension had been brewing in Sambhal since November 19 when the court-ordered survey of the Mughal-era mosque was carried out following claims that a Harihar temple previously stood at the site.

Violence erupted during a second survey on November 24 as protesters gathered near the mosque and clashed with security personnel, leading to stone pelting and arson. Four people died and several others were injured in the clashes. The police have denied allegations that it fired at the protesters.

The Supreme Court has since ordered the Sambhal trial court to halt proceedings in the case and its survey.

Pensiya further said, "If anyone tries to spread rumours on any group on social media, the group admin will delete the post and immediately inform the police. Cyber cafes will keep a register to enter the names of visitors. No person in Sambhal will burn effigies at public places." With the fresh extension taking effect, the Samajwadi Party's Muzaffarnagar MP Harendra Malik was stopped from entering Sambhal from Ghaziabad.

"I don't understand why we are being stopped. Are the opposition leader and the MPs so irresponsible that they can't be allowed to move within the state?" he asked.

"Our delegation also included MPs Zia-ur-Rehman Barq (Sambhal) and Iqra Hasan (Kairana). What can we do? The government is acting in an autocratic manner," Malik said.

Sambhal MP Barq has been booked in connection with the November 24 violence for "provocative acts".

In Moradabad, Samajwadi Party MP Ruchi Veera's residence was surrounded by cops to prevent her from travelling to Sambhal.

Leader of Opposition in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Mata Prasad Pandey, who was to lead the delegation, told reporters outside his Lucknow residence that Home Secretary Sanjay Prasad called him and requested him to not visit Sambhal.

Pandey is sitting on a dharna in Lucknow.

"The Sambhal district magistrate also called and told me that the ban on the entry of outsiders had been extended. I will now visit the party office and discuss the issue before deciding on our next action," he said.

"The government perhaps wanted to prevent me in order to hide its wrongdoings in Sambhal as our visit would have exposed its mistakes," he added.

Heavy security has been deployed outside Pandey's residence since Friday.

Samajwadi Party state chief Shyam Lal Pal had said on Friday that a delegation would visit Sambhal on the instructions of party supremo Akhilesh Yadav.

The team will submit the report to Yadav after taking detailed information about the violence, he had said.

The party had earlier postponed a visit after assurances from the director general of police about a fair investigation into the violence.

Congress state chief Ajay Rai earlier told PTI that a party delegation would visit Sambhal on December 2.