BJP conspiracy behind Sambhal violence, alleges Akhilesh

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Samajwadi Party (SP) President Akhilesh Yadav alleged on Tuesday (January 7, 2024) that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government deliberately caused the Sambhal incident through its officials.

“The BJP government deliberately caused the Sambhal incident through officials. Injustice is still being done on a large scale to the people in Sambhal. Pressure is being exerted on people. False cases are being filed. The district magistrate and the police are acting unconstitutionally and undemocratically. There was no rioting in Sambhal, yet innocent youths were killed by police bullets there. When the Samajwadi Party government is formed, we will get the Sambhal incident investigated impartially and punish the culprits,” said Mr. Yadav.

He was addressing a press conference in Lucknow after the release of a report on the Sambhal violence, by an SP delegation. It was led by the Leader of Opposition in the Vidhan Sabha, Mata Prasad Pandey, and Legislative Council leader, Lal Bihari Yadav. The 18-member fact-finding team claims the U.P. government’s objective is to destroy peace in the country and spread hatred and discrimination in society.

BJP is heartless

“When the Places of Worship Act is in force, what was the need to survey the Shahi Jama Masjid in such a hurry?” reads the report.

Mr. Yadav alleged that “human lives hold no value for the BJP; it is a heartless party. Women, youths, farmers, and the poor are facing incidents of injustice and atrocities on a daily basis, but this government has no sympathy for the victims. No one is getting justice from the BJP, nor is anyone being heard,” said the SP leader.

Mr. Yadav questioned the administration for stopping the SP delegation from meeting victims after the incident in Sambhal. “What did the government want to hide? The injustices done to the people by the police and administration in Sambhal have never been seen before. The police beat people, filed false cases against them, and tortured them to extract statements. When Samajwadi Party leaders went to meet the victims in jail, action was taken against the jailer based on caste,” said the former U.P. CM.

Sambhal, a western U.P. town, witnessed deadly violence on November 24 with five Muslim youths being killed as locals clashed with U.P. police over a survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid. People accused the police of opening fire, though the police deny this. The town remained on edge for over a month.