NRP Desk
Lucknow: A three-member judicial commission hended by Justice (Retd) Devendra Kumar Arora, a former Allahabad high court judge, on Thursday submitted its two-part probe report on the November 2024 violence in Sambhal to Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, a senior official said. At least four people were killed and several others injured in the violence that erupted near the Shahi Jama Masjid on November 24 last year during protests against a court-ordered survey of the Mughal era mosque, which the Hindu side claims was built after razing a Harihar temple. The judicial commission constituted to probe the Sambhal incident has submitted its report to the chief minister,” principal secretary (home), San jay Prasad, told reporters. Asked about the content of the report, Prasad said he could only speak about it after studying it. The commission headed by Jus tice Arora was set up on November 28, 2024, and also comprised retired IPS officer (1979 batch) Arvind Kumar Jain, and former IAS officer (1989-batch) Amit Mohan Prasad. Its members visited Sambhal several times since December 1 last year, when they first visited the violence-hit areas, including Kot Garvi and Shahi Jama Masjid, to record statements of witnesses. Ex-IPS officer Jain, who is also a former DGP of Uttar Pradesh, said the report was handed over to the chief minister at his residence around 10 am in the presence of principal secretary Prasad. Jain, too, refused to divulge the con-tents, citing the “confidential” nature of the report. However, a senior government official privy to the development said the report highlights a disturbing history of communal violence.
The report stated that Sambhal witnessed as many as 15 riots in 83 years between 1936 and 2019, resulting in 213 deaths, according to the official.
