Congress leader seeks Supreme Court-monitored probe into Sambhal violence

Congress general secretary KC Venugopal. Pic/X

Congress leader KC Venugopal on Monday attacked the Yogi Adityanath government over the violence in Sambhal and alleged that there is a "conspiracy to polarise society and escalate tensions". He demanded a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the violence.

"The violence and riots in Sambhal, UP point to a clear conspiracy on the part of the Modi-Yogi 'double-engine government' to polarise society. The haste with which the so-called survey was...carried out shows a deeper conspiracy to create instability and fear among the people of the region," Venugopal said in a post on X.

"Multiple ground reports suggest the killings at the hands of the police who deliberately escalated matters to this level. This shows clear complicity of the State in this riot and a neutral, Supreme-Court monitored probe is the need of the hour to restore peace and bring justice to the victims of this mob violence," he added.

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party MPs including party president Akhilesh Yadav met the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday regarding the Sambhal incident. Opposition members were keen to raise the issue in the House and have targeted Yogi Adityanath government over the violence. Akhilesh Yadav alleged earlier that party MP Zia-ur-Rahman Barq has been booked even though he was not present in Sambhal.

"Our MP was not even in Sambhal during the incident and despite that, an FIR was lodged against him. It is very unfortunate to know about the young people who have lost their lives in this incident. From all the videos we have, we know it was a riot by the government. The government was looting votes, playing with the EVM machines.. they did riot in Sambhal," he alleged.

Akhilesh Yadav said that the order was passed by the Court without even listening to the other party and questioned the state government. Yadav demanded action against concerned police officials. A stone pelting incident occurred in Sambhal on Sunday when an ASI team arrived at the Shahi Jama Masjid to conduct a fresh survey of the mosque, as per officials. The survey was part of a legal process following a petition filed by senior advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, who claimed the mosque was originally a temple.

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