Police post built with stones thrown at cops during Sambhal clash opens
LUCKNOW: A newly constructed police post was inaugurated on Friday, just 100 metres away from the residences of Samajwadi Partys Sambhal MP Zia-ur-Rahman Barq. The uniqueness of the outpost lies in the fact that it has been built using the same bricks and stones that rioters had thrown at the cops during a violence which had seen loss of five lives leaving scores, including the cops, injured in the western UP district on November 24, 2024. The post, named Deepa Sarai Police Outpost, was inaugurated on Friday with a havan-pujan ceremony conducted by two priests. CO Kuldeep Kumar served as the host for the ritual. The outpost is near the residence of the absconding gangster Sharik Satha, who is believed to be the mastermind of the Sambhal violence last year. Moreover, SP MP Zia-ur-Rehman Barq figures among the accused of violence. He is charged with inciting unrest. The construction of the Deepa Sarai outpost began on March 4, 2025, and was completed in nine months and 13 days, said police sources. The two-storey outpost has a control room equipped with CCTV cameras to keep a vigilant eye on the activities taking place in the vicinity. The city already has a Satyavrat police post next to Sambhal Jama Masjid, where police remain deployed round-the-clock. It may be recalled that the violence had erupted during the second phase of a court-ordered survey of Sambhal Jama Masjid in response to a petition by the Hindu side claiming it to be the original Harihar Temple, allegedly demolished by Mughal emperor in 1529. A petition regarding this claim was filed on November 19, 2024 after which Civil Judge (Senior Division) Aditya Singh ordered a survey and appointed Advocate Commissioner Ramesh Singh Raghav. The survey team began work inside the mosque on November 19 after the court order but could not complete it. It again went for the survey on November 21 and when it returned on November 24 for the next phase of survey, a large crowd gathered and pelted stones at the police.
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