Ahead of summons, UP policeprobe Barq’s Nov 24 B’luru trip

Bareilly: UP police have launched a detailed probe into MP Zia-Ur Rahman Barq's "Bengaluru trip on the day of violence" in Sambhal on Nov 24, last year. This comes after the Samajwadi Party leader, who was earlier named in one of the FIRs as a "key accused" in the case, had been summoned by the SIT to appear before them for questioning in the UP town on April 8.
Barq, a first time MP from Sambhal, claimed that he was in Bengaluru on Nov 24 to "attend a meeting of the AIMPLB and hence cannot be blamed for the Sambhal violence", which left five people dead and at least 19 police personnel hurt. Police said that as part of the investigation they will also be questioning the MP about the dates when he booked the flight tickets for Bengaluru.
SIT in-charge, Kuldeep Kumar, told TOI on Saturday: "We've evidence of the MP's involvement in the conspiracy which caused the violence. We are waiting for him to appear for questioning. Since he has protection from the Allahabad High Court, he can't be arrested for now." The Nov 24 violence erupted during a court-directed survey of Sambhal's Shahi Jama Masjid.
According to a police officer investigating the matter, the Jama Masjid committee president, Zafar Ali, who was recently arrested, allegedly told them during questioning that Barq "instructed him to assemble a crowd and prevent the court commission from conducting a survey". After this "crucial information", police have started gathering circumstantial evidence against the MP, he added.
The SIT -- investigating the 12 cases in connection with the violence -- submitted their case diary in the court on April 4. The public prosecutor officially confirmed the alleged involvement of Barq with the mosque ‘sadar' Zafar Ali in the case.
A senior cop in Sambhal claimed, "Zafar leaked information about the second survey of the mosque to Barq. Thereafter, Zafar was in continuous touch with some anti-social elements and, with their support, he gathered the crowd. Their target was the survey team and police."
After receiving the summons last month in Delhi, the MP said that he received the notice from Sambhal police and he was asked to cooperate with the investigation as per the HC's orders. Barq added that he assured "full cooperation to them as a responsible citizen of the country".
TOI tried to contact Barq on Saturday, but he was not available despite several attempts.