Tensions Rise in Sambhal: SP MLA Blames Authorities for Violence

Amid ongoing unrest in Sambhal, Samajwadi Party MLA Ravidas Mehrotra accuses local authorities of instigating tension and demands their removal. The SP delegation aims to meet victims' families and calls for a judicial probe. Party leaders criticize the BJP government's handling of the situation.

Tensions continue to escalate in Sambhal, with Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA Ravidas Mehrotra voicing sharp criticism against district authorities. On Saturday, Mehrotra accused the District Magistrate and the Senior Superintendent of Police of contributing to ongoing unrest by frightening residents and confining them indoors. He pledged that if barred from the area, the party would stage a protest to uphold peace.

The SP delegation, comprising senior members, seeks to offer condolences and support to the families of five victims who lost their lives in recent violence. Despite a heavy police presence, the group departed early to see party chief Akhilesh Yadav, determined to meet both victims and those injured, while striving to restore calm to Sambhal.

Mehrotra has called for the immediate removal of the implicated District Magistrate and Senior Superintendent of Police, urging a judicial inquiry led by a current High Court judge. Meanwhile, SP leader Mata Prasad Pandey expressed frustration over verbal directives barring his district visit, as police fortified his residence. Pandey accused the government of obstructing opposition scrutiny to camouflage its failures.

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav condemned the BJP's perceived managerial failures, attributing the persistent restrictions in Sambhal to misgovernance. According to Yadav, the BJP's negligence in curtailing incitements from riotous elements led to the peace disruption.

Sambhal's discord originated following a local court's survey order on November 19 of a mosque, contested due to claims of its site historically being a temple. Subsequent clashes between protestors and police resulted in four fatalities. The court's survey initiative has further fueled the community tensions.

(With inputs from agencies.)