The investigation into the recent Sambhal violence has unleashed shocking revelations. According to police, cases of both exploded and unexploded cartridges have been traced to their origins in Pakistan.
Police officials have said the forensic team found a misfired 9 mm shell along with another shell that had “PAKISTAN ORDNANCE FACTORY” inscribed on it. Besides, two shells of 12 bore and two from 32 bore guns were also recovered. The officers there have continued search operations, with several senior police officials already at the scene.
The revelations are likely to have far-reaching consequences for the three-member judicial panel probing the violence that is believed to have been pre-planned. The committee, established by the Yogi Adityanath government, has been studying the following four key aspects: whether the violence was spontaneous or part of a conspiracy, the circumstances leading to it, and what preparation is needed to avoid such incidents in the future.
The panel is headed by Justice Devendra Kumar Arora, a retired judge of the Allahabad High Court. It also comprises Amit Mohan Prasad, a retired IAS officer, and Arvind Kumar Jain, a retired IPS officer.
The clashes, which left four people dead and many injured, took place last month during a court-mandated survey of Sambhal’s Shahi Jama Masjid. It had been ordered by the local court following a petition claiming there was a Hindu temple underneath the mosque-a common bone of contention, similar to issues harnessed in Varanasi and Mathura. Fearing the mosque could meet a similar fate to that in Ayodhya, locals gathered in opposition of a survey led by the Archaeological Survey of India.
