Only 15–20% Hindu population left in Sambhal: Violence report to CM Yogi

Lucknow: A three-member judicial commission headed by retired Allahabad High Court judge Devendra Kumar Arora on Thursday submitted its report on the November 2024 violence in Sambhal to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

The panel members, including Arora, retired IPS officer Arvind Kumar Jain, and ex-IAS officer Amit Mohan Prasad, met the chief minister and submitted their report on the violence that erupted near the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal on November 24 last year during an ASI-monitored survey of the mosque, claiming four lives and injuring several others.

The commission was set up on November 28, 2024. Its members visited Sambhal several times since December 1, 2024, when they first visited the violence-hit area to record witness statements.

"The judicial commission constituted to probe the Sambhal incident has submitted its report to the chief minister," Principal Secretary (Home), Sanjay Prasad, said.

About the details of the report, Prasad said, "We can tell more only after studying it. Further action will be taken accordingly." “Yes, we have submitted our report to the chief minister. It’s a voluminous report,” panel member and former DGP Jain told PTI.

He, however, refused to disclose the contents of the report, calling them “confidential”.

Jain also didn’t entertain queries on the authenticity of some reports claiming that, among other things, the “voluminous” report highlights a “demographic” shift leading to a dwindling Hindu population.

According to some reports, the “voluminous” document running into nearly 450 pages highlights how the Hindu population has now been reduced to around 15-20 per cent in Sambhal, less than half of what it used to be.

However, Jain said the panel members are not entitled to reveal the contents of the report.

“The report will be tabled before the Cabinet and later in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly as part of an established process,” Jain said.

The panel members visited Sambhal four times, first on December 1, 2024, followed by visits on January 21, and January 30.

The members went there again on a two-day visit on February 28, spoke to the witnesses, and urged those privy to the events leading to violence to depose before the commission.

The Sambhal dispute dates back to November 19 last year, when Hindu petitioners, including advocates Hari Shankar Jain and Vishnu Shankar Jain, filed a suit in the Sambhal district court claiming the Shahi Jama Masjid was built over a temple.

A court-ordered survey was conducted on the same day (November 19), followed by another on November 24.

The second survey on November 24 triggered significant unrest in the area, resulting in the death of four persons and injuries to 29 policemen.

Police booked Samajwadi Party MP Ziaur Rahman Barq and mosque committee head Zafar Ali in connection with the violence, besides registering an FIR against 2,750 unidentified persons.

BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP and former DGP Brij Lal told PTI that he is confident the report will highlight the demographic shift in the western Uttar Pradesh town.

“I have been a senior police officer and have served in various capacities across the state to know the reality. The reports suggesting a marked decline in the Hindu population will surely feature in the panel report. How can something so evident go unnoticed,” Brij Lal asked.

While the panel members termed the report “confidential”, some members of the ruling BJP sounded confident that it contained how “Hindus were systematically targeted” in many communal riots in the region.

“Demographic change, as witnessed in Sambhal, is a huge threat to the country’s security. The repeated communal riots in Sambhal, in which Hindus have been targeted and killed, led to the community’s exodus from the town. The panel report also indicates the same,” state BJP spokesman Rakesh Tripathi claimed.