UP court : has ordered a formal complaint against twelve police personnel, including former CO Anuj Chaudhary, over the Sambhal
UP court: A criminal case against twelve police officers, including senior officers like former Sambhal Circle Officer Anuj Chaudhary and former Sambhal Kotwali in-charge Anuj Tomar, has been ordered by a court in the Sambhal district of Uttar Pradesh due to their alleged involvement in the violence that occurred during the demolition of a mosque in 2024.
Yameen, whose kid was injured in the alleged police shooting during the riots, submitted a plea, and Chief Judicial Magistrate Vibhanshu Sudhir granted the ruling on January 9.
Yameen, a resident of Sambhal’s Khaggu Sarai Anjuman neighborhood, said that during the rioting near the Shahi Jama Masjid area on November 24, 2024, the police fired at his 24-year-old son Alam. The petition claims that Alam was fired at by police as he was out selling cookies and rusks close to the mosque.
On the morning of November 24, 2024, police reportedly opened fire on demonstrators during a court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid, killing five Muslims and injuring numerous more.
Yameen informed the court in his plea, which was submitted on February 6, 2025, that his son sought medical attention while in hiding due to fear. He also requested legal action against Kotwali Station House Officer (SHO) Tomar and then CO Chaudhary, in addition to ten or twelve unnamed police officers.
The court ordered the registration of first information reports against all identified and anonymous officials during a hearing on January 9.
In relation to the violence, the police have so far filed 12 FIRs at the Sambhal Kotwali and Nakhasa police stations. More than 2,200 people were mentioned in the FIRs, including Suhail Iqbal, the son of SP MLA Iqbal Mahmood, and Ziaur Rahman Barq, an MP for the Samajwadi Party.
134 individuals have been taken into custody by police so far, including three ladies and Zafar Ali, the president and activist of Shahi Jama Masjid. In connection with the investigation, police have also imprisoned three suspected allies of fugitive mobster Shariq Satha.