By Omar Rashid
New Delhi: Zafar Ali, the chairperson of the managing committee of the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal, was arrested on Sunday (March 23) in a case related to alleged criminal conspiracy behind the violence that broke out during a controversial survey of the mosque in November last year.
A legal source close to Ali – himself an advocate – alleged that Ali was arrested on March 23 – exactly four months after the violent incident of November 24, 2024 – to prevent him from appearing before a judicial commission in Lucknow and testify. Before being placed under arrest, Ali was summoned for questioning by police two days in a row.
Ali’s brother Tahir Ali told reporters that police arrested him to prevent him from giving his statement to the judicial commission, which had issued him summons.
‘Police don’t want him to go and give his statement before the judicial commission’
“Police don’t want him to go and give his statement before the commission. To stop him from appealing before the judicial commission, police carried out this unconstitutional act” said Tahir Ali.
Announcing Zafar Ali’s arrest, Sambhal Superintendent of Police Krishan Bishnoi said Ali was arrested in connection with the FIR lodged for “criminal conspiracy”. Zia-ur-Rehman Barq , the Sambhal MP from Samajwadi Party was accused in the same FIR of allegedly instigating the mob through a speech delivered by him a few days before the incident, soon after the administration led by a court-appointed advocate commissioner carried out a hurried survey of the Masjid on the directions of a local civil judge.
The court had on November 19, 2024 ordered a survey of the mosque after taking cognisance of an application by some Hindu activists who filed a suit claiming that the Islamic religious site built during the time of Emperor Babur was originally a prominent Hindu temple dedicated to the prophesied avatar of Vishnu, Kalki. Suhail Iqbal, son of SP MLA Iqbal Mehmood, was also accused of instigating the mob.
Ali was not named in the FIR and was, till now, not named as a suspect or accused, although a day after the November incident he was summoned for questioning by police after he alleged in public that he saw policemen firing at the crowd. Five Muslim men were killed in the violence.
This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here.