# Sambhal panel calls mosque survey violence a planned conspiracy 2026-08-06T02:25:19+00:00 | India | Indian Opinion Desk A judicial commission appointed by the Uttar Pradesh government, headed by former Allahabad High Court judge Devendra Kumar Arora, has concluded that the violence in Sambhal on 24 November 2024 was a 'calculated criminal conspiracy' aimed at obstructing a court-ordered survey of the disputed Jama Masjid-Hari Har Mandir site, and not a spontaneous outbreak, according to a report tabled in the state assembly and covered by Hindustan Times. The panel, which also included retired officials Amit Mohan Prasad and Arvind Kumar Jain, examined witness statements, FIRs, post-mortem and forensic evidence, concluding that stone-pelting, firing on security personnel and arson followed the survey's second round, in which four civilians died and several people, including police personnel, were injured. Samajwadi Party MP Zia-ur-Rehman Barq called the findings 'wrong' and accused the government of using the report to polarise voters ahead of assembly elections due early next year. BJP MLA Rajesh Chaudhary called the report 'fact-based' and accused the SP of evading it because local leaders were implicated. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The finding comes from a commission the state government itself appointed, and no rival inquiry or opposition-led investigation is cited here to test its conclusion of a criminal conspiracy against the question of individual responsibility, which still rests on the FIRs the panel says it examined. The immediate political split, Barq calling the report an election tool and Chaudhary calling it fact-based, shows the finding is already being read through the lens of Uttar Pradesh's assembly elections, due early next year, which is the point at which its political use will actually be tested. ## Coverage - www.hindustantimes.com Tags: Places of Worship Act, Sambhal Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/sambhal-violence-a-calculated-plot-to-obstruct-mosque-survey-panel-report/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/sambhal-violence-a-calculated-plot-to-obstruct-mosque-survey-panel-report/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.