Eyewitness testimonies and videos “contradict the official narrative” that the crowd protesting the survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal district in November was violent, said a fact-finding report by civil rights groups.

“Rather, they [testimonies and videos] depict excessive force by the police, including unlawful entries into homes, destruction of property and beatings,” said the report.

The report, released by non-governmental organisation Association for Protection of Civil Rights and solidarity campaign Karwan-e-Mohabbat, pertained to the violence that 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.

A trial court had ordered the survey in a lawsuit 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”.

The first survey took place on November 19 while a second one was conducted on November 24.

Five persons were killed in the violence during the second survey.

The report released on Tuesday looked into the process of the survey and what happened in its aftermath. It said that a petition was filed on November 19 in the trial court seeking an immediate survey of the mosque, claiming that it was actually a temple.

The Uttar Pradesh government did not raise objections in the trial court and a judgement was passed without hearing the mosque’s representatives, the report said, adding that this allowed the survey to take place within hours.

“Suspicion and unease spread among Muslim residents, intensified by the lack of standard precautionary protocols, such as notifying the Peace Committee or following basic communication norms,” the report claimed.

It said that the “second survey on November 24, conducted under visibly partisan circumstances (including the presence of a slogan-chanting mob), was especially incendiary”.

The ablution tank in the mosque was drained, the report claimed, adding that this was seen by several protesters as a symbolic act of desecration.

“This second survey, executed without a fresh court order, was seen as a provocation and triggered large-scale protests,” it added. “Police responded to the crowd of protesting Muslims with lathi charges, tear gas, and gunfire.”

Five Muslim men were killed and dozens injured, the report said. More than 85 persons were also arrested.

The report claimed that in the weeks after the violence, the police conducted house-to-house raids in Muslim neighbourhoods, filed “dubious” first information reports and targeted political figures and activists.

“These actions occurred amidst broader state-led crackdowns on alleged ‘encroachments’, electricity theft and illegal construction – almost exclusively in Muslim-majority areas,” the report added.

The district administration also began an “anti-encroachment drive on December 14, specifically targeting areas like Sarai Tarin Main Market, Hindupura Kheda, Deepa Sarai, Khaggu Sarai, including areas near the residences of [Samajwadi Party] MP Zia Ur Rehman Barq, MLA Iqbal Mehmood, and SP leaders Aqeelur Rehman Khan and Firoz Khan” affected by the unrest, the report said.

During the drive, portions of about 150 houses, shops and 10 mosques – such as staircases and balconies built over roads and drains – were demolished on the pretext of encroachment on government land, it added.

In June, the Uttar Pradesh Police said that it had filed a chargesheet against Barq and 22 others in the case related to the violence. Barq was accused of inciting the crowd by giving allegedly provocative speeches.

The police had said that “some anti-social elements, criminals and certain political people to claim political relevance incited violence at the Shahi Jama Masjid” on November 24.

It claimed that they had found that allegedly inflammatory speeches and incitement to violence led to the clashes, which resulted in arson, the throwing of stones and damage to public and private property.

“We have sent 92 people into judicial custody and are collecting evidence,” the police had said. “The investigation is still ongoing, and soon, others involved will be arrested.”

Barq has denied the allegations, stating he was in Bengaluru at the time of the violence.

District magistrate calls report a ‘farce’

Sambhal District Magistrate Rajender Pensiya described the report by the civil rights groups a “farce”, The Indian Express reported.

Pensiya told the newspaper that a report can say anything.

“People became violent and started pelting stones at the police and the administration,” he said. “The entire country heard the announcement when we were requesting them to go back.”

Pensiya said that the ablution tank was emptied to check its depth.

The district magistrate also said that the anti-encroachment drive was conducted based on revenue records. “If it belongs to the government and has been illegally encroached by people, we need to act on it,” he told The Indian Express.

There was no correlation between the violence and the encroachment drive, he claimed. “The drive against the electricity theft had also begun by September 1,” the newspaper quoted him as saying.

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