Sambhal police on Thursday arrested Mohd Ghulam, a key associate of Dubai-based gangster Shariq Satha, for allegedly plotting to kill Supreme Court lawyer Vishnu Shankar Jain during the violence that erupted amid the second round of the Shahi Jama Masjid survey on November 24 last year. A large cache of foreign-made arms and ammunition was recovered from Ghulam, linking him to the conspiracy.
Addressing the media, superintendent of police (SP) Bishnoi stated that during interrogation, Ghulam admitted to receiving instructions from Satha over the phone to incite violence and target the lawyer who had petitioned for the survey.
“Ghulam orchestrated the unrest by directing his associates, Mullah Afroz and Mohd Waris, to attack protestors and escalate the situation. The ammunition recovered from Ghulam matched the foreign-made bullet casings found at the crime scenes where four people were killed,” claimed SP Bishnoi.
Satha, originally from Deepa Sarai in Sambhal, is known for running a network involved in arms smuggling and stolen vehicle trafficking. He earlier had political patronage following which he could easily operate his criminal activities from Sambhal but fled to Dubai in 2020 after police strictness since March 2017 and he operated his gang from across the border with the help of gang members like Ghulam, police said. Investigators also claimed his links with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI.
Bishnoi further revealed that as many as 20 criminal cases have been registered against Ghulam between 2016 and 2024. During the raid, police recovered three country-made pistols of different bores, a magazine, and 15 cartridges of four different bores, including three foreign-made cartridges of 9mm and 12 bores.
{{/usCountry}}Bishnoi further revealed that as many as 20 criminal cases have been registered against Ghulam between 2016 and 2024. During the raid, police recovered three country-made pistols of different bores, a magazine, and 15 cartridges of four different bores, including three foreign-made cartridges of 9mm and 12 bores.
{{/usCountry}}Ghulam’s arrest follows the apprehension of Afroz and Waris on January 18 and January 24, respectively, in connection with the murders during the violence. SP Sambhal stated that Ghulam’s revelations point to Shariq Satha as a key conspirator behind escalating the violence in Sambhal.
Notably, the survey was ordered by the Sambhal civil court on November 19, 2023, following a petition by Jain. The civil judge (senior division) appointed lawyer Ramesh Raghav as advocate commissioner, and the first survey was carried out in the evening in the presence of Sambhal district magistrate Rajendra Pensiya and superintendent of police chief Krishan Kumar Bishnoi. However, the second phase of the survey on November 24 led to violent protests, resulting in four deaths and injuries to 29 people.