Sambhal Tensions Rise: Locals Urge Yogi to Act as Hindu Families Flee
Residents demand security after mosque survey violence sparks fear and migration.
Residents voiced urgent pleas to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for enhanced security measures to protect the Hindu community and curb their migration, as they deposed before a judicial commission probing the November 2024 violence near the Shahi Jama Masjid.
The three-member panel, led by retired Allahabad High Court judge Devendra Kumar Arora, alongside former IPS officer Arvind Kumar Jain and ex-IAS officer Amit Mohan Prasad, submitted its report to the CM after investigating the unrest that claimed four lives and injured several, including 29 policemen, during an ASI-monitored mosque survey. Locals expressed hope that the commission’s findings would reveal the “reality of Sambhal” and prompt decisive action.
Sanjay Shankhdhar, a resident who testified, highlighted the alarming decline in Sambhal’s Hindu population, from 50% in 1948 to 15-18% today, urging the establishment of a PAC battalion and district headquarters to address the demographic shift. Sanjay Kumar Pauli emphasized the “atmosphere of terror” driving Hindu migration, calling for robust security arrangements, while municipal councillor Gagan Varshney proposed granting Hindus minority status to safeguard their future.
The November 2024 violence, sparked by a court-ordered mosque survey following claims it was built on a temple, led to FIRs against Samajwadi Party MP Ziaur Rahman Barq, mosque committee head Zafar Ali, and 2,750 unidentified individuals.
The commission’s report and residents’ demands underscore deep concerns over communal tensions and demographic changes in Sambhal. As the state government reviews the findings, calls for police infrastructure, minority protections, and measures to halt the Hindu exodus signal a critical need for intervention to restore stability and ensure the safety of all communities in the district.
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