File image of Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal. File | Photo credit: PTI
The main accused in the 2024 Sambhal violence case has been traced abroad and efforts are on to extradite him to India with the help of intelligence agencies and Interpol, police said on Thursday (Oct 16, 2025).
Sharik Sata along with his associates planned the Sambhal violence on the same day as the second Shahi Jama Masjid raid on November 24 last year, which left four people dead and 29 policemen injured, Superintendent of Police (SP) Krishna Kumar Bishnoi told reporters.
“The main accused, Sharik Sata, is currently abroad. Police are making all possible efforts to trace him. His past contacts in India are being traced and intelligence agencies have been roped in. Once his location is confirmed, he will be brought back to India through Interpol channels,” the SP said, without specifying the country.
Call records of Mr. Sharik’s loved ones are being scanned to trace the country in which he is hiding, he said.
Another accused Mulla Afroz, an aide of Mr. Sharik and currently lodged in Moradabad jail, has been booked under the National Security Act (NSA), Mr. Bishnoi said.
The NSA empowers the Center and states to detain individuals to prevent them from acting in a manner “prejudicial to India’s defence”. The maximum period of detention is 12 months, but it can be revoked earlier.
It can be appealed by local government and must be ratified by a council headed by a former High Court judge. As this is a preventive detention, not an arrest, there is no legal obligation to bring the detained person before the court.
Mr. Bishnoi added that Afroz faces 11 criminal cases and has a history of serious crimes, including looting and murder. He was also involved in a firing incident in 2014 outside the residence of current Samajwadi Party MLA Iqbal Mehmood, he said.
He also said that other accused persons involved in planning and inciting the violence would face prosecution under the NSA.
The Sambhal dispute dates back to 19 November 2024, when Hindu petitioners, including advocates Hari Shankar Jain and Vishnu Shankar Jain, filed a suit in the Sambhal District Court alleging that the Shahi Jama Masjid was built over the temple.
A court-ordered survey was conducted on the same day (November 19), followed by another on November 24, the day the violence broke out.
Published – 16 Oct 2025 19:02 IST
