Friday prayers held peacefully in Sambhal Jama Masjid under tight security net

Sambhal (UP): Friday prayers were held peacefully at the Jama Masjid here amid tight security with police imposing prohibitory orders and conducting a flag march earlier in the day following claims that the Mughal-era mosque is an ancient Hindu temple site.

The Shahi Jama Masjid was surveyed on Tuesday on the orders of a local court after a petition claimed that a Harihar temple originally stood at the site.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Krishna Kumar Vishnoi said Friday prayers were held safely at the mosque with the help of forces from seven police stations and tight security arrangements around it.

The central and Uttar Pradesh governments, the mosque committee and the district magistrate of Sambhal have been made parties in the petition, Supreme Court lawyer Vishnu Shankar Jain, who is also the petitioner in the case, said.

Given the petition and the subsequent survey, police personnel held a flag march in the area and warned people of strict action against anyone creating chaos over the issue, Vishnoi said earlier in the day.

"Clerics have been told to inform everyone that they should offer Namaz in their own mosques," he said, adding that social media was also being monitored.

District Magistrate Rajendra Pesia said prohibitory orders have been imposed in the area to prevent any gathering of more than five people.

Jain has claimed that Mughal emperor Babar partly demolished the temple in 1529.

"The Harihar temple in Sambhal, we all know, is a central part of our faith. This is an ASI-protected area. There can be no encroachment of any kind in the ASI-protected area. There are many signs and symbols there which are of the Hindu temple," he said.

Jain and his father Hari Shankar Jain have represented the Hindu side in many cases related to places of worship, including the Gyanvapi-Kashi Vishwanath dispute.

Gopal Sharma, a local lawyer of the Hindu side, told PTI that the writ filed before the civil judge senior division "also mentioned Babar Nama and Ain e Akbari books in which it is confirmed that we have a Harihar Mandir".

"Now, the hearing of this case is on January 29 in which after the advocate commissioner's report comes, we will decide our future action. Further survey will be required but at present, we are waiting for the report," he added.

Samajwadi Party MP Zia Ur Rehman Barq has objected to the developments.

"The Jama Masjid of Sambhal is historical and very old. The Supreme Court had given the order in 1991 that whatever religious places are there in whatever condition since 1947, they will remain at their places," he said.