Sambhal violence a calculated plot to obstruct mosque survey: Panel report

Communal violence that erupted in Sambhal on November 24, 2024, was not a spontaneous reaction but a "calculated criminal conspiracy" aimed at obstructing a court-ordered survey of the Jama Masjid-Hari Har Mandir site, according to a judicial inquiry commission report. The report, tabled in the Uttar Pradesh assembly, distinguished the judicial order for the survey from the subsequent violence, stating the order merely triggered events that culminated in planned mobilization.

Four people died in the violence. The dispute over the religious nature of the site is currently suspended by the Supreme Court, which is considering broader issues related to the Places of Worship Act of 1991. The three-member commission, headed by former Allahabad high court judge Justice Devendra Kumar Arora, was tasked with determining if the violence was pre-planned, assessing administrative preparedness, and recommending preventive measures.

The commission's report detailed how a large crowd gathered as the survey began, protesting the exercise and attempting to enter the mosque despite police explanations. The crowd allegedly engaged in large-scale stone-pelting, opened fire on security personnel, and set vehicles ablaze. The report concluded that the organized mobilization, coordinated attempts to halt the survey, and attacks on police bore the hallmarks of a planned conspiracy to challenge the authority of the courts and state administration.