The UP govt on Thursday set up a three-member judicial panel to probe whether the Nov 24 violence in Sambhal was normal criminal activity or a planned conspiracy. Retired HC judge Justice D K Arora will lead the panel while retired IAS officer Amit Mohan Prasad and retired IPS officer AK Jain are other members. The panel, which will also probe the role of local police and action taken by it to control the situation, will submit its report in two months. Four people were killed and several cops injured in violence that took place following opposition to a court-mandated survey of Shahi Jama Masjid.
Security was beefed up in Sambhal Thursday as the court-appointed ASI team was set to submit its report on the survey of the mosque on Friday. Local authorities said they were bracing for potential unrest, particularly as people in large numbers might try to assembly for Friday prayers at the mosque.
Meanwhile, Supreme Court will hear on Friday a petition filed by the mosque management committee challenging the district court’s order for a survey and seeking a stay on it. The appeal is listed for hearing before a bench of CJI Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar. All-India Muslim Personal Law Board has, in other news, urged the CJI to stop lower courts from entertaining claims on mosques and dargahs that are being filed across the country.
(With inputs from Kanwardeep Singh)
