Lucknow: Four months after violence erupted in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal over a court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid, president of the mosque committee Advocate Zafar Ali was arrested on Sunday.
Sambhal Kotwali in-charge Anuj Kumar Tomar confirmed to PTI that Ali had been taken into custody by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) for questioning in connection with the November 24 violence.
Officials believe Ali was one of the masterminds behind the violence, and claimed to have gathered evidence that link him to inciting the mob and fabricating false proof.
Zafar Ali’s elder brother Tahir Ali, however, alleged that the police was sending the mosque chief to jail deliberately so that he did not record his testimony before the judicial panel on March 24.
“Around 11.15 am, an inspector and the investigating officer came to our house, saying that CO (circle officer) Kuldeep Singh wanted to talk. He had spoken with us last night as well. Zafar was supposed to testify before the commission tomorrow and that is why they are deliberately sending him to jail,” Tahir told reporters.
“Zafar has already given his statement in a press conference and he will not retract it. He had clearly said that the police fired shots, and those who died were killed by police bullets,” he added.
Asked about Zafar’s reaction when he was taken into custody, Tahir said, “He told me, ‘No problem, I am ready to go to jail. I will not back down from the truth’.”
According to Tahir, the Sambhal administration provoked the public to react and be violent.
The Mughal-era mosque in Sambhal has been the subject of a major legal dispute since a petition was filed claiming it was built over an ancient Hindu temple.
The Uttar Pradesh government formed a four-member panel to investigate the November communal riots in which four people were killed and several injured.
