The police in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal on Friday put up posters with photos of 74 persons suspected to be involved in the violence that erupted in the area in November, PTI reported.

The photos have been displayed at several spots in the area for residents to identify the persons accused in the matter and help authorities find them, Additional Superintendent of Police Shrish Chandra told the news agency.

Chandra said that persons who offer credible evidence will receive a cash reward.

“The posters contain photographs of suspects carrying stone[s] in their hands,” The Indian Express quoted Chandra as saying. “The suspects captured through CCTV footage from drone cameras, closed-circuit television and videos made on mobile phones were directly involved in the violence.”

On November 24, violence broke out in Sambhal after a group of Muslims objected to a court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid in Chandausi town.

A trial court had ordered the survey in 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 the violence during the survey.

In December, the district administration said that posters of those allegedly involved in the violence will be put up on public walls. Additionally, the Uttar Pradesh government had also said that it will make those involved in the violence pay for the damage to public property and display their pictures on public walls.

The posters on Friday were put up hours after separate posters with photos of one of the persons allegedly involved in the violence were removed by unidentified individuals, The Indian Express reported.

This prompted the police to instruct its personnel at its newly set up outpost opposite the mosque’s main gate to ensure that the new posters are not removed or torn.

The police have registered eight first information reports against 150 persons and 2,500 other unidentified individuals suspected to be involved in the violence. Seventy-six of them have been arrested so far for allegedly throwing stones at the police during the violence. Those arrested have not got bail.

Jamia puts up posters of protesters

In a separate incident, administration of Delhi’s Jamia Millia Islamia University on Friday put up posters with personal details of 17 students allegedly involved in the ongoing protest on campus, Newslaundry reported.

The Delhi Police had on Thursday detained several students of the university during the protest against the administration’s show-cause notices to students. They were released after about 12 hours of detention.

The notices were issued last year to two PhD scholars for holding a demonstration on December 15 to mark the fifth anniversary of violence on campus during the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act movement. It was held under the banner of “Jamia Resistance Day”.

The university accused the students of vandalising property. The students denied the claims and alleged that more than 20 of them were detained.

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