Sambhal: Internet services were restored in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal on Friday, November 29 days after communal violence in the district.
“Internet services were restored in Sambhal at 4:00 pm on Friday,” said district information officer Brijesh Kumar. The decision came just hours after Friday prayers were held peacefully at the Shahi Jama Masjid and other locations in the district, which had seen protests following a survey.
To ensure safety during Friday prayers, additional police personnel were stationed and extra CCTV cameras were set up around the mosque. Officials said that drones were also deployed to strengthen surveillance and prevent disruptions.
The Supreme Court on November 29 directed the Sambhal trial court to halt proceedings in the case temporarily and its survey while directing the Uttar Pradesh government to maintain peace and harmony in the violence-hit town.
SP, Congress to visit Sambhal following violence
A 15-member delegation of Samajwadi Party (SP) will go to UP’s Sambhal on Saturday, November 30 to gather information about the violence that broke out after a survey in the Shahi Jama Masjid complex.
SP state president Shyam Lal Pal said that on the instructions of party chief Akhilesh Yadav, a party delegation will go to Sambhal on Saturday. After taking detailed information about the violence that took place there, will submit the report to the party chief, he said.
Congress state president Ajay Rai told PTI that a Congress delegation will go there on December 2.
The situation in Sambhal has been tense since the first survey of the city’s Jama Masjid was conducted on November 19 on the orders of a local court. The petitioner has claimed that Jama Masjid stands on a previous Harihar temple.
Following this violence erupted on November 24 as individuals gathered near the mosque and clashed with security personnel, leading to stone pelting and arson. Four people died and scores of others, including policemen, were injured in the violence. Police have denied firing at the protesters opposing the survey.
Earlier, the Samajwadi Party (SP) had postponed the proposed visit of its delegation after getting assurance from the Director General of Police of a fair investigation into the violence.
The Sambhal district administration has imposed prohibitory orders in the district and entry of outsiders is prohibited till Saturday.
History of Sambhal Jama Masjid
The Jama Masjid in Sambhal is one of three mosques commissioned by Mughal Emperor Babur during his reign from 1526 to 1530 alongside the mosques in Panipat and the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya which was demolished in 1992.
Built around 1528 by Babur’s general, Mir Hindu Beg, the Sambhal mosque is situated atop a hill in the heart of Sambhal.
As historian Howard Crane described in his essay ‘The Patronage of Babur and the Origins of Mughal Architecture’, the Sambhal Jama Masjid features a sanctuary with a large square mihrab hall supported by arches to the north and south and covered by a dome on squinches. Constructed from stone masonry and plaster, its façade closely resembles the mosque in Budaun.
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