Peace prevails in UP’s Sambhal: Security blanket, Holi celebrations till 2pm, Friday prayers after 2.30 pm

The need for heavy security in Sambhal, particularly in the Shahi Jama Masjid area, stemmed from the violence that occurred during a court-ordered inspection of the mosque on November 24 last year, and controversy over the recent comments of Sambhal Circle Officer Anuj Chaudhary that “people who mind colours should not come out on Holi as Jumma arrives every Friday, but Holi only once a year”.

Sambhal has been tense after violence broke out on November 24, leaving four people dead and several, including police personnel, injured.

Amid tight security, the festival of colours and Friday prayers passed peacefully. ‘Chaupai’, a Holi procession, was taken out in the city and it passed through 10 mosques in the Sambhal area, including the border wall of Shahi Jama Masjid, from where an upward slope leads to the mosque compound.

All 10 mosques, a police official said, were covered using tarpaulin sheets to avoid being coloured. Tempos, dhols and hundreds of colour-soaked people chanting ‘Jai Shree Ram’ were hurried past the narrow lanes of the city by Chaudhary himself, as the clock was about to strike 2 pm, the time by which the Holi procession was supposed to end.

The administration, with consultation with the ‘peace’ committee, had decided that the Friday prayers could commence from 2:30 pm, an hour after the usual time, after the Holi celebrations on the street ended.

“Sambhal was divided into six zones and 29 sectors. We have deployed six companies of PACs (Pradeshik Armed Constabulary) and a company each of Rapid Response Force (RRF) and Rapid Action Force (RAF) in Sambhal to ensure peaceful celebrations. Drones were also used for surveillance,” said Sambhal SP Krishna Bishnoi.

Around 2:30 pm, people start moving towards Shahi Jama Masjid Mosque, with RRF and police personnel making sure they move in a straight line past the barricade downhill.

“Namaz ka waqt toh 1:40 (pm) hota hai (Namaz time is at 1:40 pm),” a man says. “Shanti bane rahe bas, 40 minute late padh lenge (It’s alright, we will pray after 40 minutes),” another man replied.

One of them, Md Suleiman, who has been praying at the compound for the past 30 years, says this is not the first time that Holi and jumma fell on the same day. “Even if there wasn’t this much security, it would have been peaceful. During festivals, we consult with each other before celebrations,” he says.

At the masjid, devotees climbed up the stairs hurriedly, with a batch of 10 policemen sitting on the extended wall of the structure. At 2:30 pm sharp, the prayers commenced at the mosque and by 2:50 pm, devotees started getting out of the compound.

RRF personnel gathered around the mosque, opposite the under-construction police post, and again made the devotees go down the slope in a straight line.

“I did my prayers and I am going. That’s all we wanted to do, without any ruckus. There are troublemakers everywhere. Har baat pe itni fauj kyun laani? (Why do we bring so many security forces),” says Chand Mohammad, 49, as he moves past the barricade towards his home.