Sambhal violence: Charge sheet deadline approaches, over 400 more suspects identified
Those arrested include four women and two members of the Shariq Satha gang, who are accused of killing two people each during the violence.
As the February-end deadline to file charge sheets in nearly a dozen cases related to the Sambhal violence on November 24 last year approaches, the Sambhal police have identified 400 more suspects, said senior police officials. So far, 75 accused have been arrested while a hunt is on for the remaining ones, the officials said.
Those arrested include four women and two members of the Shariq Satha gang, who are accused of killing two people each during the violence.
Earlier, FIRs were filed against 38 named accused and 2,500 unidentified accused for pelting police personnel with stones, firing and arson during a court-ordered survey of the Shahi Masjid in Sambhal on November 24, 2024.
Also read | Sambhal riots: Judicial panel members record statements of govt employees
A senior police official said over 400 more suspects have been identified by scanning CCTV footage of the violence. He said the police had succeeded in arresting 75 accused while teams are deployed to arrest 24 more accused against whom the local court has issued non-bailable warrants (NBWs). He said the process of procuring NBWs against 55 more suspects is on in court.
The official said the investigators have been asked to arrest more and more accused in the matter before filing the charge sheets.
The police are likely to file charge sheets in 12 cases by February-end, he said.
Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) provisions stipulate that a charge sheet in a criminal case must be filed against the accused within 60-90 days, otherwise, the arrest is illegal, and the accused is entitled to get bail. This deadline is supposed to end by February 23.
Also read | Sambhal reports over 1,400 power theft cases; 16 mosques, 2 madrasas implicated
Earlier, the Sambhal police arrested notorious criminals Mullah Afroz and Mohd Waris on January 18 and January 24 respectively. They were accused in the killing of two people each in the Sambhal violence.
Four people identified as Ayaan, Bilal, Mohammad Kaif and Naeem, who were part of the crowd, had died during the violence. Several others, including many police personnel, were injured. Afroz was accused of killing Ayaan and Bilal while Waris was accused of the killings of Mohammed Kaif and Naeem.
According to police, Shariq Satha is a local criminal from Deepa Sarai area of Sambhal. He fled to Dubai in 2020 from where he operates his gang. Satha is also reportedly associated with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and the Pakistani intelligence agency, ISI, according to police.
Also read | SC halts opening of well near Sambhal mosque
Sambhal was in the news after the court of civil judge (senior division) on November 19 last year ordered a survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid following a petition by Supreme Court lawyer Vishnu Shankar Jain. The court also appointed Ramesh Raghav as the advocate commissioner to carry out the survey. The advocate commissioner carried out an initial survey of the mosque on November 19 evening in the presence of district magistrate Rajender Pensiya and superintendent of police KK Bishnoi. A second round of the survey began on November 24, sparking protests and violence that claimed four lives.