Archive · 9 Aug 2026
Sambhal Violence Called Premeditated Conspiracy, Inquiry Blames Samajwadi MP
In November 2024, something very scary happened in a town called Sambhal in India.
A judge had asked experts to study an old building to find out more about its history.
A large group of people became angry about the study and threw stones at police officers, and some people used guns.
Police and investigators later said this was not an accident but a plan made on purpose to start a fight between two religious communities.
They said a member of parliament named Ziaur Rehman Barq helped plan it, and more than 100 people were arrested.
The town of Sambhal has seen many such fights over a long, long time.
A very bad fight happened in 1978, when many people were killed.
The article says that in the past, some leaders let the people who caused the violence go free, but now the rules are stricter.
Some people connected to the accused lawmaker say he did nothing wrong, while investigators say he must face the law.
On November 24, 2024, violence broke out in Sambhal during a court-ordered scientific survey of the Jama Masjid site, with rioters allegedly attacking police with stones and gunfire.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) and a high-level inquiry commission reportedly identified Samajwadi Party MP Ziaur Rehman Barq and Suhail Iqbal as the principal figures behind the violence, which the author calls a premeditated conspiracy.
123 rioters were arrested and jailed immediately after the incident, and trial proceedings based on police chargesheets have begun in court.
The violence was allegedly linked to fugitive criminal Tariq Satta's Dubai-based network, which reportedly smuggled luxury vehicles and supplied foreign-made weapons to rioters.
The article accuses Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav of 'appeasement' for supporting the accused MP, and cites 16 major riots since the 1920s and demographic changes in Sambhal.
- Who
- Samajwadi Party MP Ziaur Rehman Barq, named as a principal accused; the SIT and high-level inquiry commission; Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath; Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav; and the Uttar Pradesh Police.
- What
- A mob attack on police and survey teams during a court-ordered scientific survey of the Jama Masjid site, described as a planned conspiracy to trigger a communal riot in Sambhal.
- When
- November 24, 2024, for the violence; November 28, 2024, when the high-level inquiry commission was constituted; the article also references riots on March 29, 1978.
- Where
- Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, India.
- Why
- Allegedly to stop the court-ordered survey of the disputed Jama Masjid site and to engineer a Hindu-Muslim communal riot, according to the SIT and inquiry commission findings cited in the article.
Opposition (Samajwadi Party) View
Government and Investigation View
Nature of the November 24 violence
Opposition (Samajwadi Party) View
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and party colleagues visited Sambhal and publicly stood in support of MP Ziaur Rehman Barq, signalling they dispute the accusations against him.
Government and Investigation View
The SIT and the high-level inquiry commission described the mob attack during the court-ordered survey as a well-planned, premeditated conspiracy to engineer a communal riot.
Political handling of riot cases
Opposition (Samajwadi Party) View
Previous governments withdrew riot cases — Mulayam Singh Yadav's government dropped all pending 1978 riot cases within 18 days in December 1993 — a decision the article criticizes as appeasement.
Government and Investigation View
Under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the state now acts firmly, jailing 123 rioters and pursuing trials so that no influential person, including MPs, can escape the law.
- Date of violence
- November 24, 2024
- Location
- Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, India
- Trigger
- Court-ordered scientific survey of the Jama Masjid site
- Arrests
- 123 rioters arrested and jailed immediately after the incident
- Principal accused
- Samajwadi Party MP Ziaur Rehman Barq and Suhail Iqbal
- Inquiry commission
- Constituted by CM Yogi Adityanath on November 28, 2024
- Recovery ordered against Barq
- ₹1.91 crore for electricity theft; only ₹6 lakh deposited
- 1978 riots
- 184 Hindus killed in Sambhal on March 29, 1978