The Sambhal Story: Old Mosque, New Politics And Muslims in Fear & Forced Silence

"We can't speak openly anymore." There's fear among locals that if they speak up, they will be arrested next.

Hindutva has a found a new project — Sambhal. Our report shows what's happening on the ground.

(Photo: Kamran Akhter/The Quint)

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In Sambhal's Khaggu Sarai neighbourhood where an old temple was re-opened, there persists an eerie silence. Amid scores of homes, a few people stared from their terrace and windows but hid as soon as they saw us approaching. This silence in Khaggu Sarai is a metaphor for the fear that has gripped Sambhal and its locals even months later.

"Ab toh bolne mein bhi darr lagta hain ke kahi humare saath hi dhoke se kuch na hojaye." This was a sentiment that was common for all the people we spoke to, local businessmen, lawyers, journalist, families of the victims, etc.

Sambhal makes it to news headlines every now and then, the latest one being the decision to outlaw an age-old fair — the Neja Mela — held by Muslims to commemorate Saiyad Salar Masud Ghazi. From covering mosques ahead of Holi, to CO Anuj Chaudhary's remarks on suggesting Muslims to stay indoors on Holi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath backing his statements.

But this is just the tip of the iceberg. There's a more sinister game at play.

At the time The Quint visited Sambhal, 80 arrests had been made in connection with the November 2024 violence. We looked into how the lives of locals have changed and what the future holds for the city. In the wake of the ongoing arrests, politics around the Shahi Jama masjid, this is the story of a town where Hindutva claims seem to be growing taller, and the people quieter.

Shahi Jama masjid has found itself amid controversies again.

(Photo: Shivkumar Maurya/The Quint)

Shahi Jama Masjid: From Whitewashing to Posters

When The Quint visited the Shahi Jama masjid on 27 February, an ASI team had come to inspect whether the mosque needed any whitewashing done. This is a routine exercise that takes place every year before any festival, but this time it found itself as a case in the Allahabad High Court.

On 12 March, the Allahabad High Court directed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to carry out the whitewashing of the mosque within one week, in accordance of the agreement signed in 1927 between the mosque management committee and the ASI.

The whitewashing of the mosque has now begun after the Allahabad High Court's orders.

(Photo: Shivkumar Maurya/The Quint)

It was always done by the mosque committee before until now and they would reimburse ASI for the costs incurred.

Zafar Ali, chairperson of the masjid's managing committee told The Quint that they had filed objections in the court and attached photos to show the mosque was in need of whitewashing.

But the Hindu litigants had said in the court that painting the mosque would deface it and remove signs of a Hindu temple.

Additionally, on the back wall of the mosque, posters were put by the UP police last month of 74 alleged suspects in the Sambhal violence case.

This put Sambhal on edge again. Shortly after, Zafar Ali got into a heated argument with Shrish Chandra, Additional ASP, North to remove the posters.

But Chandra told him that the mosque is "ASI's property and not theirs."

Zafar Ali, the chairperson of the mosque's managing committee.

(Photo: Shivkumar Maurya/The Quint)

Chandra's justification was that these alleged suspects were seen to be carrying stones in CCTV footage and drone cameras. So these posters are up to seek public assistance in identifying them.

When I asked Ali about the whitewashing case and the posters, he replied:

Silence is our weapon now, we can't say anything that can be misconstrued by the media and the people. We are doing what we can to maintain peace. Our answer will now come from our silence.

Zafar Ali to The Quint

It also must be noted that CM Adityanath has made several remarks on Sambhal, right from trying to seek details on the 1978 riots and pandering to the Hindu anger, to also making claims over the mosque again. "Jo hamara hai, woh hame mil jana chahiye.." he said reportedly, referring to the mosque.

Raking up of the city and its mosque repeatedly adds to the Hindutva rhetoric and puts Sambhal's communal harmony in peril.

The 'Peace' in Peace Committee

Beyond the politics around the mosque, the last few months have fractured Sambhal's social fabric.

This begets the question: Where is the 'peace' brought by the peace committee? Has it been instrumental in restoring peace amid communal tensions?

The Quint found that there are two peace committees in Sambhal. One comprising Hindu and Muslim locals and few state officials and an old one which consists of just the locals.

Ehtasham Ahmed, one of the senior peace committee members told The Quint: "There was fear among people, shops and markets were closed. I am a businessman and also part of the Trade Association here. So, I first appealed to the businessmen and they also listened to us. And steadily, the whole market opened again."

As compared to before, things are bit difficult now. I also fear that it would have a negative effect or our statements could be misconstrued, so we have taken some steps backwards. But wherever we need to stand for peace, we don't think about how much it might harm us. For our city and the people, we will always stand for peace.

Ehtasham Ahmed to The Quint

Ehtasham Ahmed, a senior member of the Peace Committee.

(Photo: Shivkumar Maurya/The Quint)

While Narendra Agarwal, Chairman, Trade Association in Sambhal showed solidarity to fellow local Muslims, simultaneously he also condemned the stone-pelting on 24 November 2024.

"We have also protested, but our protest was not violent. We will have to understand when to speak and when not to, If something wrong is happening, then there is a way to protest. This is no way to protest that you resort to stone-pelting. It is wrong," said Agarwal.

He added that leaving the agitations aside, "inka aur humara pyaar kabhi khatam nahi hoga," looking at Ahmed.

Narendra Agarwal, the head of the local trade association.

(Photo: Shivkumar Maurya/The Quint)

However, Agarwal's views were not corroborated by other locals.

Mohammad Anwar, a local whose younger brother was picked up three months ago from his residence, thinks differently.

"Relations between Hindus and Muslims were good before. Co-existing together, like a family. Attending each others' wedding functions. People stuck to each other and were a unit. Now there are differences. They are also careful with us and so are we," he remarked.

Amid all of this, newspapers had reported that due to fear among the locals, around 1,000 homes were locked indicating that many fled the city. However, The Quint found that this is not entirely true.

Advocate Qamar Hussain also said that several people had locked their homes in November "as FIR was filed against many unidentified people and some had left, but the huge number being portrayed is false."

The 'Satyavrat' Police Outpost 

Apart from this, an alarming development has come up in front of the mosque — a new police chowki called the 'Satyavrat' chowk.

SP KK Bishnoi told ANI that the same bricks and stones thrown by the 'rioters' in the violence are being used to construct these outposts for public's safety.

But this police outpost is in direct violation of ASI guidelines which prohibit any structure within 100 meters of an ASI-protected monument.

A local lawyer, who wishes to remain anonymous, said that there are questions raised over its NOC and how it has been constructed very swiftly in less than a month.

The police outpost is being constructed outside the Shahi Jama mosque. 

(Photo: Shivkumar Maurya/The Quint)

Close to The Temple, A Family's House in Question

Some weeks after the Sambhal violence, an allegedly dormant temple, the Kartikeya temple was re-opened in the Khaggu Sarai locality, which is a Muslim-concentrated area.

While the temple was claimed to have opened after 46 years, locals stated that the family which took care of it had opened it to routinely clean it till some years ago.

Moreover, a Muslim family is now bearing the brunt of the temple being re-opened. Attached to the temple is Mohammad Mateen and Uzma Parveen's house.

Due to pressure from authorities, Parveen said that they removed the chajje (an over-arching balcony) after the temple re-opened, but they were then pressurised to break down an entire wall of their house and Mateen was arrested too. Why? Because their house comes as an obstruction for the parikrama (circumambulation) of the temple.

All of this, despite their documents and papers being verified and checked by the authorities.

Uzma Parveen, showing the verified documents for her house.

(Photo: Shivkumar Maurya/The Quint)

"They charged him with Section 151 (IPC) and they alleged that he abused the government in the temple. So they said he will be given bail, but he wasn't given one right away. Mateen got bail 9 days later," Parveen told The Quint.

Contrary to this, the local Hindus we spoke to, which included the priest of the Kartikeya temple and a regular worshipper, Chandra Pal stated that no local Muslim has behaved unduly or acted as a hindrance.

Amid this pattern of more Hindu sites being surveyed, the demography and migration of Hindu and Muslim population has come into question.

Saad Usmani, a senior journalist in Sambhal stated when the town faced riots in 1976 and 1978, a huge part of Hindu population moved away from Muslim-majority area and so did the Muslims from Hindu-majority areas.

"Similarly, some locals left from Khaggu Sarai and migrated. So because there were hardly any Hindus here, the temple had closed and a Rastogi family had the keys to it. But to re-open it, and re-discover it, it has been highlighted as part of a political agenda, and there is an attempt to give it a communal angle," recounted Usmani.

Saad Usmani, a local and a senior journalist stated a communal angle has been given to the Kartikeya temple.

(Photo: Shivkumar Maurya/The Quint)

But Usmani agreed that the current incidents have deeply impacted relations between Hindus, Muslims and even their livelihoods.

Where The Police & Cases Come In

While the police alleged, as per media reports, that they used 'rubber bullets' on 24 November, visuals accessed by The Quint paint a different picture.

Till now, a total of 12 FIRs have been filed and arrests have been made in 6 of them. Interestingly, one of them was filed by CO Chaudhary.

In his FIR, as accessed by The Quint, he has alleged that a mob of 700-800 people, laced with weapons had come to the spot, attacked them and also stole their guns. The Quint also found that this was repeated in other FIRs.

The FIRs filed the police also have similar verbatim in each.

(Accessed by The Quint)

Advocate Hussain stated, "Almost all the FIRs that have been filed are more or less copy-paste of each other. The problem is that they have filed six FIRs for one incident which means it will become harder for the client to secure more bails."

Qamar Hussain, a local Advocate who is handling cases of some of the accused.

(Photo: Shivkumar Maurya/The Quint)

'My Son Cries When I Visit Him in Jail'

The politics in Sambhal may take new form and shape with time, but the families of the victims have been left in a limbo, too fearful to speak fearing retribution from the authorities.

The Quint met with the families of Mohd Hussain, Mohd Hassan and Mohd Kaif. Hussain and Hassan are in jail. At least four Muslims were killed in the Sambhal violence and Kaif was one of them.

Every time Shabnam Begum talked about Hussain's absence, her voice cracked.

Fifteen-year-old Hussain is the youngest of the minor boys arrested, she claimed. He was arrested from Neemwari road when he went to buy vegetables.

Shabnam's youngest son has been arrested by the police.

(Photo: Shivkumar Maurya/The Quint)

"I tried looking for him everywhere with his photo, but didn't find him. I went to Kotwali police station to get a complaint filed. They told me that no complaint would be filed and told me to go. I said that my child is lost but they refused. When I was returning, I saw him crying in the jail. His head was broken, his elbow and leg too. He was crying and then I was too."

Shabnam Begum to The Quint

She alleged that she also had to pay a bribe of Rs 1,000 when she went to visit him in Moradabad, now facing financial difficulties of her own, she is only able to visit the jail every 10-12 days.

Hussain's photo in Shabnam's phone.

(Photo: Shivkumar Maurya/The Quint)

Nineteen-year-old Hassan's only fault was that he had stepped out to look for his younger brother — amid the chaos. But he was shot in his arm and the bullet came from the police, he claims.

Aseeya Kauser, Hassan's sister was visibly agitated as she recounted the events, sitting on a chair in her enclosed veranda.

She alleged that Hassan not only faced pressure from the police to name 10 more people, he was also subjected to communal slurs. At the hospital, she stated that Hassan was chained to his bed.

For 8-9 days, he was tied up in the hospital. They didn't open it except when he had to go to the washroom. Even then, two police officers accompanied him. I requested them that he got a bruise because of it so to open it, but they refused and said that this all an act, he is alright and he would run away.

Aseeya Kauser to The Quint

Aseeya, Hassan's sister took out his photo as she recalled his arrest.

(Photo: Shivkumar Maurya/The Quint)

In a narrow alley at night, The Quint tracked down Kaif's family. A 17-year-old toy seller in Sambhal Chandausi, Kaif was returning from the market when he found out it was closed but he was killed amid the police firing.

His father, coincidentally also named, Mohammad Hussain, said: We have not got the post-mortem report yet. Every day, it is.. (breaks down). What do I say? My heart pains, every day, I remember all of it."

Mohd Kaif's family has still not received his post-mortem report.

(Photo: Shivkumar Maurya/The Quint)

So while the locals still grapple with the changing political landscape of the town, the fear that is omnipresent is how Sambhal could now become another Ayodhya.

A local police officer, who wished to be anonymous, told The Quint that efforts to maintain communal harmony are being made, that they have deployed forces for the same and are regularly holding meetings with the peace committees too.

(The Quint also reached out to SP KK Bishnoi over calls and messages. His response will be added once received).