A Congress delegation headed by the party’s Uttar Pradesh chief Ajay Rai was on Monday stopped from travelling to the Sambhal district, where violence erupted last week.

The police prevented the delegation from leaving the Congress’ Lucknow office, as the entry of outsiders has been banned in Sambhal till December 10.

Congress workers in Lucknow engaged in scuffles with the police and tried to jump across barricades, The Indian Express reported. Rai drove a car within the party office premises, with party leader PL Punia by his side, but the police stopped them at the gate.

Rai then held a demonstration at the state Congress office along with other party workers. He said that the party would visit Sambhal on the day when the restrictions on outsiders entering the district are lifted.

Congress MLA Aradhana Misra, who was also among those stopped from going to Sambhal, remarked that the district had been engulfed in violence “due to the incompetence of the government and administration”. The party accused the government of engaging in “dictatorial tactics” and said it strongly condemned its actions.

Violence broke out in Sambhal on November 24 after a group of Muslims objected to a court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid in Chandausi town. The court ordered the survey in response to a suit claiming that the mosque had been built in 1526 by Mughal ruler Babar on the site of the “centuries-old Shri Hari Har Temple dedicated to Lord Kalki”.

Five persons were killed in violence during protests against the survey of the mosque.

The Sambhal court on November 29 directed a team that carried out the survey to submit its findings within 10 days. The case will be heard again on January 8.