Sambhal, 16 Oct (HS): The key

accused in the 2024 Sambhal violence case has been located abroad, and efforts

to extradite him to India are ongoing with the assistance of intelligence

agencies and Interpol, police said on Thursday. Sharik Sata and his associates

planned the violence in Sambhal on the same day that the second survey of Shahi

Jama Masjid was conducted on November 24, last year, resulting in the deaths of

four people and the injuries of 29 policemen, Superintendent of Police (SP)

Krishna Kumar Bishnoi said. Another accused, Mulla Afroz, a Sharik assistant

now imprisoned in Moradabad, has been charged under the National Security Act (NSA),

according to the police. Bishnoi noted that Afroz is facing 11 criminal charges

and has a history of major crimes such as looting and murder.

He was also

engaged in the 2014 incident of gunfire outside the home of current Samajwadi

Party MLA Iqbal Mehmood, he said.

The chief accused, Sharik Sata, is presently overseas. Police are making every

conceivable attempt to find him. His previous contacts in India are being

tracked down, and intelligence services have been called in. Bishnoi stated

that if his location is determined, he would be taken back to India via

Interpol methods. SP further stated that additional accused people involved in

planning and instigating violence will face NSA charges.

The Sambhal conflict began on November 19, 2024, when Hindu petitioners,

including attorneys Hari Shankar Jain and Vishnu Shankar Jain, filed a lawsuit

in Sambhal district court alleging that Shahi Jama Masjid was erected on top of

a temple.

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhishek Awasthi