Lucknow, 28 Aug

A judicial commission probing the November 2024 Sambhal violence has submitted its report to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, highlighting a significant decline in the Hindu population due to repeated communal riots.

Sources say the 450-page report, yet to be made public, states that the Hindu population in Sambhal has dropped from 45 per cent in 1947 to just 15 to 20 per cent today, while Muslims now constitute nearly 85 per cent. The report reportedly attributes this demographic shift to a history of communal riots and “politics of appeasement”.

The commission, headed by retired Allahabad High Court judge Devendra Kumar Arora and including former DGP Arvind Kumar Jain and ex-IAS officer Amit Mohan Prasad, was formed on 28 November 2024.

It investigated the 24 November violence near the Shahi Jama Masjid, which erupted during an ASI-monitored survey and left four dead and 29 policemen injured.

The dispute began on 19 November when Hindu petitioners claimed the mosque was built over a temple, triggering two court-ordered surveys. The second survey sparked violent clashes. Police filed FIRs against SP MP Ziaur Rahman Barq, mosque committee head Zafar Ali, and 2,750 unidentified individuals.

Though the report remains confidential, BJP leaders, including Rajya Sabha MP Brij Lal, asserted it would confirm a “demographic shift” and systematic targeting of Hindus. BJP spokesman Rakesh Tripathi termed the situation a “security threat”.

Panel members declined to share the report’s contents, stating it would first be tabled in the Cabinet and then in the State Assembly.