On 24th November, violence broke out in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, when a team of local authorities went to Jama Masjid to conduct the second round of a court-ordered survey. Thousands of Muslims gathered outside the mosque. When the police asked them to leave, they became irked and started pelting stones. The mob set several vehicles ablaze and opened fire at the police using locally made guns. More than 20 police personnel were injured, and at least four mobsters were killed in friendly fire. As per media reports, seven FIRs have been registered in the matter. In one of the FIRs, Sambhal MP and Samajwadi Party leader Zia ur Rahman Barq has been named as the prime accused.
Zia ur Rahman Barq was born on 13th July 1988 in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh. He hails from a prominent political family. His grandfather, Shafiqur Rahman Barq, was a former Member of Parliament from Sambhal.
According to the affidavit he submitted during the Lok Sabha Elections 2024, he pursued higher education at Chaudhary Charan Singh University in Meerut and Aligarh Muslim University. He holds two degrees, a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Arts. During his time at AMU, he was actively involved in student politics and was associated with the Aligarh Muslim University Students’ Union (AMUSU) in 2005–06.
Political Career
Initially, Barq was associated with Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) until 2017. Later, he joined the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party (SP) and was elected as an MLA for the 18th UP Assembly. He represented the Kundarki constituency from 1st March 2022 to 4th June 2024. Subsequently, he contested the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 and was elected as MP from the Sambhal constituency.
Zia Ur Rahman Barq’s alleged role in Sambhal violence
According to the FIR filed against him, Barq visited the mosque days before the violence without permission and incited unrest. Barq, however, has denied the allegations. In a statement, he claimed that when the violence broke out, he was not in the state, let alone in Sambhal. He accused the UP Police of conspiring against him.
The FIR read, “On November 22, Ziaur Rahman Barq visited the Jama Masjid. After offering namaaz, he gathered a crowd without administrative permission and made provocative statements. For political gain, he incited the crowd to disturb communal harmony.”
Furthermore, the FIR mentioned Suhail Iqbal, son of MLA Iqbal Mahmood, as being present in the crowd on the day the violence broke out. The FIR read, “Suhail Iqbal incited the crowd by saying, ‘Ziaur Rahman Barq is with us, we are also with you. We will not let anything happen to you; fulfil your intentions.’ As a result, the crowd became more violent.”
Barq has been named “Accused No. 1” while Iqbal has been named “Accused No. 2” in the FIR. Seven hundred to eight hundred unidentified individuals have also been booked in the same FIR. According to the FIR, a mob comprising 700–800 armed individuals gathered to disrupt the court-ordered survey at Jama Masjid. The FIR further stated that the mob snatched official weapons from police personnel and targeted the police with intent to kill. It read, “One person from the crowd fired at Circle Officer Anuj Chaudhary to kill him. Anuj was shot in the leg and sustained injuries.”
Other controversies and cases in which Barq was involved
Barq’s name has been associated with several cases and controversies. According to the affidavit submitted by him during elections, there are six ongoing cases against him. In 2022, five FIRs were filed against him at Hajratnagar Police Station, Mainather Police Station, Kundarki Police Station, and Sambhal Police Station. Later, in 2023, an FIR was registered against him at Hayat Nagar Police Station. He was booked in all six cases for violating the Model Code of Conduct during campaigning.
In April 2024, he was booked for making incendiary statements about deceased gangster-turned-politicians Atiq Ahmad and Mukhtar Ansari. Other than Zia ur Rahman, five other unidentified persons were also named as accused in the case lodged at Kotwali Police Station. While meeting with residents in the Chaman Sarai locality in Sambhal, Zia ur Rahman sought votes in the name of the “Qurbani” [sacrifice] of gangster-turned-politicians Mohammad Shahabuddin, Mukhtar Ansari, and Atiq Ahmad. They were booked under IPC sections 171-C (undue influence during elections), 153-A (promoting hatred between various groups based on religion and race), and 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant).
Weeks before being booked in the Sambhal violence case, on 5th November, Barq threatened to ban Hindus from entering Dargahs. His statement came in response to restrictions allegedly placed on Muslims from participating in the Maha Kumbh Mela scheduled for January 2025. Barq suggested that Muslims could consider barring Hindus from Islamic places of worship, such as mosques and shrines, to counter limitations on Muslim entry to the Kumbh Mela. He claimed that this new trend of barring Muslims from the Kumbh violates the Constitution and that the silence of the Yogi Adityanath government implies support for such actions.
Not only Barq but his grandfather was also known for making controversial statements. In January 2022, during the UP Assembly Elections, a video of his grandfather Shafiq-ur-Rehman Barq went viral on social media, where he dismissed Azam Khan’s imprisonment as a trivial issue for the SP. He claimed that it would not have any impact on the party’s position in the elections. Later, he stated that the video was edited to make the statement sound objectionable when the SP took note of it and the controversy around it. Shafiq had earlier, in August 2021, a sedition case was filed against him for suggesting that the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan was equivalent to India’s struggle for independence.
