Why Sambhal violence report is the new BJP-SP flashpoint before UP polls

The report, which blames Samajwadi Party leaders, comes handy for the BJP to claim that law and order is a casualty wherever its political rival is influentialCornered over the Ayodhya Ram Temple donation pilferage and ethanol-blended petrol rows and lately the student protests for examination reforms, the BJP in Uttar Pradesh may have found a counter-pain point of the Opposition Samajwadi Party (SP)—the November 2024 violence in Sambhal over a court-mandated survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid located in Chandausi town.A judicial commission's report, tabled in the legislative assembly on August 5, has concluded that the violence was “pre-planned”, given the police a clean chit and pointed towards the alleged role of SP MP Zia-ur-Rehman Barq, party MLA Iqbal Mahmood’s son Suhail Iqbal and others in the law and order breakdown.The report has handed the BJP fresh ammunition against the SP in the run-up to the UP assembly elections due early next year.The 854-page report was prepared by a commission headed by retired Allahabad High Court judge Justice Devendra Arora, with former IPS officer A.K. Jain and former IAS officer Amit Prasad as the other members. The commission was constituted by the Yogi Adityanath government. The violence in Sambhal erupted when officials arrived to conduct the second phase of a survey ordered by a local court on a petition that claimed that the 16th-century mosque was built over a Hindu temple. Clashes between protesters and the police, arson, stone-pelting and firing were reported. Four people were killed while several others, including police personnel, were injured.The commission concluded that the violence was not a spontaneous public reaction but a planned act. According to the report, preparations for the unrest began immediately after the first survey on November 19, when the exercise remained incomplete but passed off peacefully.The report states that misinformation was spread among Muslims that the survey was a plot to seize or demolish the mosque. In reality, the commission observed, the court had only directed an assessment relating to maintenance and public access of the mosque under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958. The misinformation created fear and resentment, helping mobilise a crowd before the second survey, the report states.The commission significantly concluded that the bullets that killed people were not fired from police weapons. It also noted that 28 police personnel were injured during the violence, including seven with bullet injuries. According to the report, members of the crowd attempted to snatch police weapons, attacked government personnel and damaged public property. The district administration and the police gave a restrained and appropriate response.The political ramifications of the report are expected to be significant. The BJP has built one of its strongest electoral narratives in UP around improved law and order under chief minister Adityanath. The party has repeatedly contrasted its governance with what it describes as the “goonda raj” of previous SP regimes. The administration’s bulldozer action against alleged criminals, claims of riot-free governance and tough policing have remained central themes of the BJP's campaign in past elections.The Sambhal probe report now gives the BJP an official judicial document to reinforce that narrative. The findings relating to alleged involvement of SP leaders fit into the BJP’s argument that law and order deteriorated whenever the SP was in power or influential locally.Not that the SP will accept the report quietly. The party is expected to question its conclusions and project it as a politically motivated exercise in the run-up to elections. Much like it has challenged investigations into other politically sensitive cases, the SP is likely to argue that the report selectively targets Opposition leaders while absolving the administration.“The report is one-sided and appears designed to place the entire blame on one community. When the chief minister himself speaks in terms of 80 versus 20, it is difficult to expect an impartial investigation from such a government. This is unfortunate,” SP spokesperson Manoj Singh Kaka said.“There is already material on record showing that some police officials in Sambhal had political links and were working for the BJP while in uniform. The people of Sambhal have neither accepted communalism nor participated in it,” he emphasised.However, BJP spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi said the report was prepared only after examining all the evidence in detail. “These findings are based on a thorough investigation and are backed by evidence. The report clearly shows the involvement of SP leaders and how they attempted to incite violence. Their objective was to use Sambhal to destabilise the Yogi Adityanath government and trigger wider unrest across western UP. However, the local administration acted in time and foiled those attempts,” he said.The political contest comes at a crucial juncture since both the BJP and the Opposition have been broadening their campaign themes. The SP and Congress have questioned the BJP over governance issues and accountability. But the BJP now appears to have an opportunity to shift the narrative back to law and order, communal violence and public security.The Sambhal report also places the violence within the city's longer communal history, noting that repeated communal tensions in the district over the years have deepened social divisions. That broader historical context may also find place in the BJP's campaign as it argues for firm governance under its umbrella.With the report tabled in the legislative assembly, expect it to become a major political issue in the run-up to the 2027 elections, and both the BJP and SP reinforcing sharply different narratives on governance, law and order and communal harmony.Subscribe to India Today Magazine- EndsPublished By: Yashwardhan SinghPublished On: Aug 7, 2026 18:48 IST