Women perform Navgrah Puja at police post site in front of Jama Masjid
On December 28, local women in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, conducted a Navgrah Puja at the construction site of the new police post being built in front of Jama Masjid.
The women made Navgrah symbols using flour and lit lamps during the Puja. In conversations with the media, they shared that the construction of the police post in the area has made them feel safer.
Notably, the Sambhal administration has decided to set up a police post in front of the Jama Masjid. The decision to construct the police post at this location was made on December 27, and construction work commenced the following day.
The police post has been named the ‘Satyavrat Police Post.’ Bhoomi Puja was held on December 27 morning to mark the start of construction. Later that evening, a group of women gathered to perform traditional rituals.
One of the women shared, “We feel safer with the police post here, so we came to light lamps before heading to the temple. We placed the lamps on the Navgrah symbols we made.”
While local women have expressed their approval of the police post in the area, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi has criticised the move.
Notably, the Sambhal administration and police launched a crackdown on illegal activities in the region following violence on November 24, 2024, during a court-mandated survey at the Jama Masjid. As the crackdown unfolded, it was revealed that the Member of Parliament from Sambhal, Samajwadi Party leader Zia-ur-Rahman Barq, was allegedly involved in electricity theft. Additionally, authorities uncovered an illegal power station at a mosque in the area, which had been supplying electricity to around 100 houses illegally.
The Sambhal administration also identified an encroached temple, which was cleared and cleaned by local police before a Puja was performed. In addition, the administration uncovered an ancient Baori, prompting the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) team to inspect the site, where excavation work is now underway. Previously, the ASI team had surveyed several sites in Sambhal, including the Kalki Vishnu Mandir, five shrines, 19 wells, and the Shiv-Hanuman Mandir. Many of these sites were either rediscovered or reclaimed from illegal encroachments by local Muslim families.
Court-ordered survey at Jama Masjid in Sambhal and violence that erupted on November 24
On November 19, a court-mandated survey was conducted at Jama Masjid in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, following a petition filed by Supreme Court Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain and seven co-plaintiffs. The petition claimed that the mosque stands on the site of a temple dedicated to Bhagwan Kalki. The site is protected under the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act of 1904. The survey was carried out under the supervision of an Advocate Commission, with a heavy police presence deployed in the area to ensure the process went ahead peacefully.
However, on November 24, during the second round of the court-mandated survey at Jama Masjid, an Islamist mob gathered outside the mosque and erupted into violence. The mob pelted stones at police, opened fire on police personnel, and set vehicles and shops on fire. At least 20 police officers were injured in the clashes, while four members of the mob were killed, likely due to gunfire from illegal firearms carried by the rioters.
The Supreme Court of India stayed the proceedings in the District Court of Sambhal following a plea filed by the Muslim side. Additionally, the survey report submitted by the Advocate Commissioner has been ordered to be sealed and remains unopened until further orders are passed by the High Court. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for January 2025. In response to the violence, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath formed a judicial committee to investigate the causes of the unrest.
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