BAREILLY: The file of the riots that occurred in Sambhal 46 years ago will be reopened following the Uttar Pradesh government’s order.
In Sambhal, which was a part of Moradabad district then, nearly 184 people reportedly died, and the accused were acquitted by the court due to lack of evidence in 2010.
Now, the UP government has ordered a fresh probe and asked the police and administration to submit their report within seven days.
According to police sources, on December 17, 2024, MLC Shrichand Sharma wrote a letter to the government demanding an investigation into the riots.
On January 6, home secretary Satyendra Pratap Singh took cognizance of this. He wrote a letter to Sambhal SP Krishan Kumar Bishnoi, directing him to submit the report within a week.
The investigation was assigned to additional SP Shreesh Chandra, and DM Rajender Pensiya was asked to appoint an official from the administration for a joint investigation.
The riots in Sambhal erupted in 1976 after the murder of a mosque cleric. In these riots, several people were killed. Sambhal city remained under curfew for two months afterward. At that time, the Janata Party was in power, and Ram Naresh Yadav was the chief minister.
The largest riot in Sambhal broke out on March 28, 1978. There was tension between the two communities over the Holika Dahan place. A rumour spread that a shopkeeper killed a person from another community, leading to the riots. Many people saved their lives by hiding in the office of SDM Ramesh Chandra Mathur.
As per the reports, during the riots, businessman Banwari Lal hid shopkeepers in his brother-in-law Murari Lal’s mansion. Rioters broke the gate with a tractor and killed 24 people. A curfew was imposed for over 30 days.
People were killed in every village around Sambhal. According to an elderly local, who is now living in Moradabad, the riots claimed the lives of 184 people, and many bodies were never found. Effigies were cremated in their place. Over 100 families in the Khaggu Sarai area of the city.
Businessman Banwari Lal was also brutally killed. Despite his family’s warnings, he went to the riot-affected area, saying everyone there was his brother and friend. The rioters caught him and severed his limbs.
In this case, 48 people were made accused, but due to a lack of evidence, all were acquitted in 2010. The judge, who delivered the order, commented that he couldn’t believe such people were not being hanged. Banwari Lal’s family left Sambhal in 1995.
