SP leaders stopped from visiting violence-hit Sambhal as ban on outsiders' entry extended till December 10

Lucknow/Sambhal (UP), Nov 30 (PTI) Several Samajwadi Party (SP) lawmakers, including its Sambhal MP, were stopped from entering the violence-hit Sambhal district on Saturday as the administration extended a ban on the entry of outsiders and public representatives into the area till December 10 to maintain "peace and order".

The ban on outsiders' entry was to expire on Saturday.

Later, the SP announced that it would give Rs 5 lakh each to the families of the four people who died in violence in Sambhal over a court-ordered survey of a Mughal-era mosque.

It also demanded that the state government give Rs 25 lakh each to the victims' families.

"The Samajwadi Party will provide a financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of those who lost their lives in the violence in Sambhal due to the failure of the BJP government and administration. The Uttar Pradesh government should give a compensation of Rs 25 lakh each to the families of the deceased," it said in a post in Hindi on X.

Reacting to the decision to clamp prohibitory orders in the area, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said, "Imposing a ban is the failure of the BJP government's governance, administration and government management. Had the government imposed such a ban earlier on those who dreamed of triggering riots and made people raise frenzied slogans, the atmosphere of harmony and peace in Sambhal would not have been spoiled." "Just like the BJP changes the entire cabinet at once, similarly, the entire administrative board from the top to the bottom in Sambhal should be suspended and dismissed on the allegation of negligence arising out of a conspiracy and strict action should be taken against them, including lodging a murder case. The BJP has lost," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said in a post in Hindi on X.

In another post on the microblogging platform, Yadav said, "Those who cover their crimes with poetry, they themselves know how guilty they really are." The SP's Muzaffarnagar MP Harendra Malik was stopped from entering Sambhal from Ghaziabad.

"Are opposition leaders and MPs so irresponsible that they cannot even be allowed to move within the state?" Malik asked.

The SP had announced that a 15-member delegation would visit Sambhal to collect information about the violence that broke out over the Shahi Jama Masjid's survey.

Curbs under section 163 (power to issue order in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), set to expire on Sunday, have now been extended till December 31.

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

Tension was brewing in Sambhal since November 19, when the mosque was surveyed 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. Four people died and several others were injured in the clashes. Police have denied allegations that it fired at the protesters.

The Supreme Court has since ordered a Sambhal court to halt the proceedings in the case as well as the survey.

Malik said, "Our delegation included MPs Zia-ur-Rehman Barq (Sambhal) and Iqra Hasan (Kairana). The government is acting in an autocratic manner." There were traffic snarls at the Ghaziabad border as police stepped up vigil to ensure that no one could move towards Sambhal.

"I want to go to Sambhal to apply a healing touch to those affected by the violence but the government is controlling everything," Malik said before he and his convoy were asked to leave the spot.

Hasan, whose convoy was stopped at Hapur, told reporters, "All those affected by the violence are our own people and we wanted to be with them. We will raise the issue in the Lok Sabha." In Moradabad, SP MP Ruchi Veera's residence was surrounded by police personnel 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 has requested him not to visit Sambhal.

"The Sambhal district magistrate also called me and said the ban on the entry of outsiders has been extended," he said.

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

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

"Stopping us here in Lucknow at our residences is completely unjustified under the orders issued. If we had reached Sambhal or were stopped at the border, it would have still made sense," Pandey said.

"The collector said we should not enter Sambhal and now they are saying that we cannot even leave Lucknow. The fact that police stopped us like this proves that Uttar Pradesh is under the rule of police and not under the rule of law," he charged.

Pandey said the situation in Sambhal demands an impartial investigation.

Asked if the SP would send a delegation secretly, he said, "Had we intended to go secretly, we would have reached Sambhal by now." In a post in Hindi on X, the SP said the government deploying police at the residences of its leaders and preventing them from travelling to Sambhal is "reprehensible".

In another post, it claimed that the Yogi Adityanath government is scared of its delegation visiting Sambhal.

"At the behest of the government, police prevented (SP) state president Shyam Lal Pal from visiting Sambhal and placed him under house arrest. The BJP government is tearing the Constitution to shreds. Totally reprehensible!" The party also claimed that its Moradabad MP Veera and Asmoli MLA Pinky Yadav were stopped from travelling to Sambhal. Rampur MP Mohibullah Nadvi was among those stopped at the Ghaziabad border.

The party's Lucknow Central MLA Ravidas Mehrotra accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of imposing an "undeclared Emergency" in the state.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said the situation in Sambhal is peaceful.

"The dispute was not a Hindu-Muslim riot but a power struggle between the local SP MP and MLA. In this tussle, the SP attempted to push Sambhal into communal unrest," he told PTI Videos.

"This attempt was made because the SP suffered a crushing defeat in the recent bypolls and even its Muslim vote bank has started shifting away from it. The delegation being sent by Akhilesh Yadav does not reflect any genuine sympathy for Muslims. It is a failed attempt to reclaim the lost vote bank," Maurya said.

Such attempts are futile and show that the SP is turning itself into a "samapt-wadi party", he added.

This is the same SP that talks about PDA (Pichhda, Dalit and Alpsankhyak) but is actually a "Parivar Development Agency" that the public has rejected, Maurya claimed.

Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak alleged that the violence was the result of a fallout between the local MP and MLA. "SP leaders are attempting to divert attention in order to protect themselves," he said.

State BJP spokesperson Manish Shukla said, "The situation is sensitive, the local administration is trying to restore normalcy. Mata Prasad Pandey and the SP should realise their responsibility and wait for the situation to normalise." "The SP's intentions are doubtful because its delegation also includes local MP Barq, who has been accused of inciting the violence. What statement will he give after going there?" he asked.

Barq has been booked in connection with the November 24 violence for "provocative acts". PTI COR NAV MAN KIS SZM RC