Police have arrested dozens of people, shut down the internet, closed schools, and tightened security in Sambhal district of India’s Uttar Pradesh state after deadly violence erupted over a survey of a Mughal-era mosque.

At least three Muslim men – Naeem, Bilal, and Noman – were killed on Sunday as people opposed to the court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal clashed with police, according to local media reports. The death toll rose to four after a 19-year-old man succumbed to his injuries.

“All schools and colleges have been closed and public gatherings have been prohibited” in Sambhal, said a senior police officer, Aunjaneya Kumar Singh. Authorities also banned outsiders, social organisations and public representatives from entering the city without official permission until November 30, Singh said, as the government scrambled to contain the unrest.

At least 25 people have been arrested and police complaints have been filed against some 2,500 people, including local Member of Parliament Zia-ur-Rehman Barq from the regional Samajwadi Party (SP), according to Sambhal police chief Krishan Kumar Bishnoi.

Burq has been accused of inciting the mob, a charge he denied.

“It is so unfortunate, it is a preplanned incident. Across the country, Muslims are being targeted,” he said.

Armed police personnel stand guard following violence near the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal on November 24, 2024 [AFP]

Survey of the mosque

Earlier, a local court allowed the survey on the back of a petition filed by eight plaintiffs led by pro-Hindutva lawyer Hari Shankar Jain that claimed the 16th-century mosque was built on the site of a Hindu temple, officials said.

Sunday’s survey, the second in five days, was opposed by the local community who fear it was an attempt to take over the mosque and foment communal tensions. The first survey conducted on November 19 was completed with the cooperation of the local community. Muslims say the court rushed with the survey and they were not given a chance to present their case.

What began as a standoff escalated into clashes when protesters threw stones at police, who responded by deploying tear gas, police said. Police said at least 16 officers were “seriously injured” during the protests.

Videos circulating on social media showed scenes of stone pelting and vehicles engulfed in flames as police used firearms.

Sunday’s incident was also reminiscent of the dispute over the Babri Mosque in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya town that was demolished in 1992 by a Hindu mob, claiming that the 16th-century mosque was built in place of a temple for God Ram.

The mosque’s demolition led to religious riots that killed nearly 2,000 people, mostly Muslims, across India.

Opposition slams BJP

Opposition politicians and activists accused the state government of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of “orchestrating” the survey to draw a wedge between Hindus and Muslims.

Akhilesh Yadav, former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and SP leader, blamed the state government for the unrest. “This incident is unfortunate,” he said.

The opposition Congress party called for a judicial inquiry into the violence. “The Sambhal incident is a result of the politics of hatred done by this government. The way five people have been killed there, a judicial inquiry must be done into it,” state’s Congress chief Ajay Rai said.

Asaduddin Owaisi, president of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen party, told reporters outside Parliament: “The violence that occurred there, where three Muslims were shot dead, is something we strongly condemn. This is not firing, this is murder.”

Some lawmakers also raised the issue in Parliament soon after it reconvened for the winter session.

Owaisi, who represents the southern constituency of Hyderabad in the Lok Sabha, Parliament’s lower house, said the mosque in question is 200-250 years old and the court passed “an ex-parte order” regarding the mosque without hearing its caretakers.

Indian Union Muslim League MP Muhammed Basheer called for a motion in Parliament to discuss the killing of the protesters and slammed the mosque survey decision. “We strongly condemn this judicially sanctioned action for its blatant violation of the Protection of Places of Worship Act,” he posted on X.

As authorities brace for potential fallout, the incident has reignited tensions over religious disputes in India where historical grievances often fuel contemporary conflicts.

Hindu activist groups, mostly linked to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party BJP, have claimed that several mosques in India were built over Hindu temples centuries ago during the Mughal empire. Though they have provided little proof for their claims.

Experts say Hindu nationalists have been emboldened after Modi earlier this year inaugurated the controversial Hindu temple built on the ruins of the Babri mosque, in a political triumph for the populist leader who is allegedly seeking to transform the country from a secular democracy into a Hindu state.

Some critics pointed out that the survey of the mosque was against the spirit of The Place of Worship Act 1991. The law says “the religious character of a place of worship existing on the 15th day of August 1947 shall continue to be the same as it existed on that day” – the day of India’s independence from British rule.

Hindus make up about 80 percent of India’s population, the world’s most populous country, which is also home to some 200 million Muslims who have frequently come under attack by Hindu nationalists since Modi’s rise to power in 2014.