Sambhal Jama masjid chief to stand trial in 2 earlier cases

BAREILLY: Two additional cases have been imposed against Zafar Ali, president of the Sambhal Jama masjid management committee, who is already in jail over the Nov 2023 Sambhal violence. The police brought him to the chief judicial magistrate's court on Monday, where both old cases — one linked to unauthorised mosque construction in 2018 and another involving alleged threats made in 2020 — came up for hearing.
The hearing was held under tight security at the chief judicial magistrate's court. A large police contingent was deployed in and around the court premises, with senior officers monitoring the movement closely. According to officials, both cases had been under investigation for several years and were formally chargesheeted only recently.
Ali's first case dates back to Jan 2018, when an assistant sub-inspector at Kotwali Sambhal filed a complaint alleging that Ali had carried out unauthorised construction at the Shahi Jama mosque. The FIR mentioned the installation of railings and other structures without obtaining due permission. Authorities had issued multiple objections over the additions, but construction continued.
The second case, filed on April 3, 2020, during the Covid lockdown, was based on a complaint from Maulana Muin Ashraf. He alleged that Ali had threatened him during a dispute. Based on the complaint, police booked Ali under IPC sections 504 (intentional insult) and 506 (criminal intimidation).
Advocate Taufeeq Ahmad, representing Ali, told TOI, "The president of the Jama Masjid Committee, Zafar Ali advocate, appeared in Sambhal as warrants were issued against him in a case filed by the ASI, and summons were issued in another old case. Therefore, hearings for both cases were held together. We have sought the case documents."
Sambhal SP Krishan Kumar Bishnoi added, "Police filed chargesheets in both the cases registered before the November violence incident. The cases are on trial, and we will ensure conviction in the cases as there is strong evidence that the crime was committed. We are also in the process of filing a chargesheet in the violence incident this month."