Posters of 74 Sambhal violence suspects put up at Jama Masjid

Speaking to mediapersons Friday, Sambhal Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP, North) Shrish Chandra said, “The posters contain photographs of suspects carrying stone in their hands. The suspects captured through CCTV footage from drone cameras, closed-circuit television (CCTV) and videos made on mobile phones were directly involved in the violence. Their identity is yet to be confirmed, so posters have been put up to seek public assistance in identifying them.”

The district police have directed the personnel posted at the new police outpost that was recently set up opposite the main gate of the mosque to ensure these posters are not removed or torn by anyone.

Earlier on Friday, several posters of a man, named as an accused in the violence, were torn off at most places in the town. “We got information that some miscreants tried to remove the posters. We will identify these people and take action against them,” Sambhal Kotwali SHO Anuj Kumar Tomar said.

The posters announced a reward for those sharing information about the suspect. This was the first instance of the police putting up a poster of an accused in the case.

In a video released to the media by the district police, the suspect in the poster is purportedly seen gesturing to people to follow him as a crowd made its way to the mosque on November 24. The survey was ordered after a priest and six others filed a civil suit claiming that a temple once stood at the site of the mosque.

Seventy-six accused, including four women, have been arrested in the case so far for allegedly pelting stones at the police from the rooftops of their houses.

Those arrested have not got bail.

The police had registered eight FIRs against 150 suspects who were identified through various means and nearly 2500 unidentified people after the violence.