The Sambhal police have arrested 25 persons including two women and booked around 2,500 persons including Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Zia-ur-Rehman Barq, for the violence that took place during the survey of a Mughal-era mosque.
According to sources, four men allMuslimss were confirmed dead in the violence. However, policemen asserted that they did not use any weapons.
However, in contrast to this, videos were circulating on social media that sshowedpolice officers and constables firing at the mob, which engaged in heavy stone-pelting, a senior officer maintained that the weapon seen in a widely-shared video was a pellet gun.
Meanwhile, police claim that they did not fire with weapons but Barq while speaking outside parliament a day after the Sunday incident, alleged that some officers fired with their private weapons along with their service weapons and set their cars on fire.
The Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav while rubbishing the police claims has demanded action against the police officials and said murder charges be filed against them.
The SP Chief has accused the BJP of orchestrating the incident to divert attention from the “loot of votes” in the Kundarki by-poll election, which the saffron party won.
As per reports as the survey began people gathered and sought to know the reason for the survey.
This enraged the circle officer who used foul language and ordered a lathi-charge at them. Opposing this, some people pelted stones.
In return, the police, constables as well as officers, fired bullets with their service and private weapons,” said Yadav, reading out a written statement.
The SP chief alleged that the deceased were killed by police bullets.
On the other hand, Moradabad divisional commissioner Aunjaneya Kumar Singh, however, said that the post-mortem reports of the four Muslims who were killed showed they were hit by bullets fired from country-made weapons.
He however said we will further probe this.
