The roads leading to the Shahi Jama Masjid here are heavily guarded. Police checkpoints and barricades encircle the mosque, a stark reminder of the violence that rocked this town in western Uttar Pradesh in November 2024. Access to the mosque’s main entrance is restricted, and visitors are required to navigate narrow alleys on either side to reach it. Surveillance is strict. If pedestrians linger, policemen ask what they are up to.

Taking photographs is discouraged and people are directed to keep moving. Built in 1526 and protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the mosque hit the headlines when a local court admitted a petition claiming it was built over a temple. The court directed the ASI to conduct a survey. Galvanised into action, the police and an ASI team began the survey the very same day (24 November 2024). Despite being taken aback, the mosque management committee cooperated, reasoning that the ASI was responsible for maintaining the mosque.

When the team returned with many more policemen and directed a tank inside to be drained of water, a crowd gathered. Heated exchanges were followed by stone pelting and soon the situation spiralled out of control. Residents claim that four Muslims were killed in police firing, but the police claim the firing came from the people in the crowd. Not a single policeman sustained a bullet injury.

Around 80 Muslims who were arrested are still in jail, among them the president of the mosque’s management committee,

© National Herald