False claim of survey team raising religious slogans in Sambhal goes viral
Last Sunday, four people died in the violence during the survey of Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal, while several policemen were injured. The police have so far registered 12 FIRs in this case. Many videos and posts are going viral on social media regarding Sambhal violence. In one of these videos, it is being claimed that when the survey team was going towards Jama Masjid, people raised slogans of ‘Jai Shri Ram’, due to which the riot broke out.
SP leader Akhilesh Yadav wrote, “The ‘Supreme Court’ should immediately take cognizance of the conspiracy to spread tension in the name of survey and a case of disturbing peace and harmony should be registered against those who took sloganeers with them with the aim of disturbing social harmony and the ‘Bar Association’ should also take disciplinary and punitive action against them. There was no hope from the Uttar Pradesh government and administration; nor is there any now.”
Rajan Chaudhary asserted, “Asaduddin Owaisi on stone pelting incident in Sambhal: The Sambhal mosque is more than 200 years old. The court passed the order without consulting the mosque committee, which is wrong. The survey team arrived shouting provocative slogans, which led to violence and three Muslims died. The firing that took place was murder and those responsible for it should be suspended.”
Zee News wrote, “Jai Shri Ram slogans were raised, violence happened as part of a conspiracy, statement of SP MP Zia ur Rehman Barq on Sambhal violence.”
SP MP Ram Gopal Yadav told ANI, “The administration itself has incited the riots. The survey team went to the mosque chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’, which incited the riots.”
The Muslim claimed, “Location : Sambhal, UP. The survey team entered the mosque raising religious slogans. The court-appointed survey team entered the mosque amid stone pelting and clashes.”
Sadaf Afreen wrote, “Uttar Pradesh, Sambhal This is a survey team, they have come again to survey the mosque! The survey team in black coats has arrived shouting the slogan “JSR”! Nowadays religion has entered into every institution! And this is dangerous for the country!”
Chandni wrote, “The survey team of UP’s Sambhal Shahi Jama Masjid entered the mosque raising religious slogans. They are raising Jai Shri Ram slogans to provoke local Muslims.”
Apart from this, this claim was shared by Mohammad Naseeruddin, Rizvi Khan, Khurshid Ahmed, Ansar Imran and Arsalan.
Also Read: Old Video of Protest Against EVM is From Delhi, Not Maharashtra
In our fact-check research, we found a news report published by Bharat Samachar on November 24. According to the report, on Sunday, following the court’s orders, a team from the Advocate Commissioner entered the mosque at 7:30 am to conduct a survey regarding the claim that Harihar Temple exists within the Shahi Jama Masjid of Sambhal. The report also mentioned that a survey had been conducted earlier on November 19.
It can be clearly seen in the Bharat Samachar report that the survey team enters the mosque peacefully, and at no point during this time are slogans of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ raised.
Further, a tweet by Global Bharat News reported that the survey began at the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal. This is the second survey, conducted in the presence of the Advocate Commissioner under court orders. The team arrived at the mosque at 7:30 am, and a heavy police force was deployed in the area, turning the entire locality into a cantonment.
According to Aaj Tak’s report dated November 24, the team appointed by the court surveyed the mosque for about 2.5 hours. The reporter mentioned that advocate Vishnu Shankar was also part of the team. During this time, the crowd around the mosque became angry and pelted stones at the police.
According to another Aaj Tak report, the angry mob set the survey team’s car on fire. In the video, it was seen that the mob was pelting stones on the roads around the mosque and the security forces were trying to take the survey team out safely.
UP Tak reported that the team entered the mosque at 7:30 am and around 9 am the violent mob started pelting stones.
At the end of the investigation, we found an interview with Moradabad Commissioner Ajneya Kumar Singh, in which he said, “Whatever I say, I will say based on evidence, and I also request others to speak based on evidence. If the police had any such evidence, it would definitely have been captured somewhere. The facts we have presented are based on the evidence captured.”
The commissioner further said, “I have also seen the footage in which it is being claimed that the team conducting the survey raised slogans of ‘Jai Shri Ram.’ This claim is completely false. The place where the slogans were being raised is far from the Jama Masjid, in a Hindu-dominated area. Some people joined the survey team and raised slogans, but they were immediately stopped. We did not beat anyone for raising slogans. Slogans were also being raised in front of the mosque, but we explained the situation to them and tried to maintain peace.”
| Claim | The riot broke out due to slogans of “Jai Shri Ram” being raised during the survey in the mosque. |
| Claimed by | Akhilesh Yadav and others |
| Fact Check | Jai Shri Ram slogans were raised after rioting broke out at a place away from the mosque. |
Also Read: Video of Lathi Charge on Miscreants Is Not From Sambhal
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