On 24th November, a Muslim crowd in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal district rioted, injuring over two dozen police officers. The First Information Reports (FIRs) of this incident revealed how the mob targeted the police. While on one hand, the people associated with the perpetrators are playing the victim card, the FIR presented a different story. According to one such FIR, the throng surrounded the police officers and took their firearms after abusing them.
They had to back off in self-defence to prevent any loss of life. The FIR has been lodged by a sub-inspector posted in Kotwali Nagar, Sambhal in which he stated that he was posted near the disputed Jama Masjid along with his fellow constables. A group of 700-800 Muslims gathered about 100 meters away from the structure at around 8:45 in the morning. The crowd began raising slogans before turning violent. The boys began hurling stones and the cops became the target. The official complaint added that the mob was determined to drive out the police team that had arrived to survey the contested mosque.
According to the sub-inspector, it was illegal in the district for more than five persons to congregate. As a result, the police repeatedly advised the people to return home. However, the raging crowd remained unaffected by the appeals and kept pushing the policemen as they moved forward. The culprits continued to abuse the police personnel and threw stones at them during this period. According to the sub-inspector’s accusation, the Muslim radicals were targeting the police as part of a conspiracy.
After the stone pelting, 40-50 people from the crowd instigated the rioters to kill the cops. A few individuals even tried to snatch the official pistol of the complainant. When their attempt failed, they looted 10 9mm cartridges from the sub-inspector. Others in the crowd surrounded Constable Kapil Kumar and grabbed the bag that was dangling over his shoulder which had 29 tear gas shells. They took it with them. They then targeted a third cop. They then turned their attention to Constable Pankaj Kumar. The bag hanging on his shoulder was looted. It contained 25 blank cartridges and the same number of rubber bullets. They also targeted Constable Rajpal posted there and 15 cartridges were taken away from him too.
The enraged throng then attempted to murder him. The cops had to run towards the police station to save their lives. The mob announced that it would not allow the survey of Jama Masjid under any circumstances. The lives of the policemen were saved only after the arrival of additional forces. However, many of them have been injured in the violence and are undergoing treatment in hospital. On social media, a video of the father of a rioter who was killed in Sambhal is also becoming very popular. “I have no demands. I will take revenge by shooting the one who killed him,” he candidly challenged in front of the media. “The police shot him,” he replied when about who killed his son.
