Four people were killed and a number of others, including 24 police and administrative officers, were injured in violent clashes on Sunday in Sambhal in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
The violence broke out as the authorities were carrying out a court-ordered survey of a 16th-century mosque at the center of a legal battle over claims that it was built on the site of a Hindu temple.
Locals gathered near the mosque as the survey team arrived at the site, with the crowd growing to nearly 1,000 people, according to local media. Some individuals in the crowd threw stones at police personnel stationed at the site. The mob also reportedly set fire to more than ten vehicles.
The situation escalated rapidly, with reports indicating that protesters clashed with law enforcement. Police used tear gas and batons to disperse the crowd, while some individuals reportedly opened fire, resulting in injuries on both sides.
In response to the unrest, local officials ordered the closure of schools and internet services in the region to prevent the spread of misinformation and to curb further violence. Senior police officials confirmed that additional forces were deployed to control the situation and ensure safety for residents.
Despite the unrest, officials completed the examination of the site, as reported by NDTV, and the survey report is scheduled to be submitted to the court by the end of the month.
Tensions in Sambhal began to rise last week when the first site survey was attempted on November 21, just hours after it was ordered by a local court. The application for the survey was submitted by a local temple priest who claimed that a Hindu temple had existed at the site of the mosque before it was allegedly demolished by Muslim rulers to build the Shahi Jama Masjid in 1526, according to the Indian Express.
As hundreds of people started gathering around the mosque that day, the local authorities reportedly asked Muslim clerics to urge people to remain calm and peaceful.
“Elaborate arrangements have been made to ensure peace in the district. A large number of policemen have been deployed around the mosque to prevent the possibility of any trouble,” the local police chief told the media at the time.
The mosque in Sambhal is believed to have been built during the 16th century under Mughal Empire rule. It has retained its historical and religious significance, and is protected under the country’s Worship Act of 1991, which stipulates that all religious places existing in 1947 will remain at their sites, noted Zia-Ur-Rehman Barq, an MP from the opposition Samajwadi Party representing the Sambhal constituency.
Chief of the same party Akhilesh Yadav blamed the state government led by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for "spreading tensions in the name of survey."
The development comes nearly a year after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a massive temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. It was built on the site of the 16th-century Babri Masjid, which was demolished in 1992 by Hindu activists, resulting in deadly communal clashes. A decades-long legal and political dispute over the site ended with a Supreme Court decision in 2019 ordering that the land be handed over for the construction of a Hindu temple, while the Muslim side would be given another site to build a mosque.