Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav condemned the violence in Sambhal over a survey of a mosque on Sunday and accused ruling BJP in the state was behind the attacks. Yadav charged the ruling was trying to divert public attention from its electoral malpractices through the attacks.
"A serious incident occurred in Sambhal. A survey team was deliberately sent in the morning to disrupt discussions about the elections. The intention was to create chaos so that no debate on election issues could happen," Yadav charged. “Several persons suffered injuries in the attack and even one person got killed,” PTI reported quoting Yadav.
Yadav questioned why a second survey was conducted at the site on Sunday "that too in the morning and without preparation". "I don't want to go into the legal or procedural aspects, but the other side was not even heard. This was intentionally done to provoke emotions and avoid discussions on election rigging," he said. Yadav charged, “What happened in Sambhal was orchestrated by the BJP, the government and the administration to divert attention from electoral malpractices.”
The Samajwadi Party leader demanded an impartial probe into poll rigging charges and said the Election Commission should conduct a forensic examination of electronic voting machines.
Violent protests erupted in Sambhal on Sunday morning when a survey team reached Shahi Jama Masjid site amid heavy police deployment following a local court order. Stones were pelted at the survey team and the police had to use tear gas to disperse the crowd. The team conducted a survey on Tuesday as well.
The court ordered the survey after hearing a petition claiming the Mughal-era mosque was constructed by demolishing a temple which stood at the site.