Communal anxieties dull Eid sheen in scarred Sambhal

In Sambhal, Eid festivities are overshadowed by grief and tension after violent clashes last November, leaving families mourning and fearing celebrations.

Kot Garvi in Sambhal, a Muslim-majority city in western Uttar Pradesh, is eerily quiet. Eid is around the corner but there is little sign of the all-night preparations or public festivities.

Police conduct a flag march a day after the arrest of Zafar Ali, Chairman of the Shahi Jama Masjid managing committee, in Sambhal, Monday. (PTI)

Ayesha Bano, a 45-year-old widow, clutches a photo of her son Naeem, killed in the clashes. “He went to see what was happening at the masjid,” she said. “The police deny shooting, but I saw the hole in his chest.” In neighbourhoods such as Hindpura and Nakhasa, such stories