Samajwadi Party MP Zia ur Rehman Barq
Sambhal: A special investigation team (SIT) probing the Sambhal violence case on Tuesday served a notice to Samajwadi Party MP Zia ur Rehman Barq at his Delhi residence after failing to find anyone at his Sambhal house earlier in the day, officials said.
Barq confirmed receiving the notice and stated that he had been asked to appear for questioning on April 8. "Since I am an MP and a citizen of this country, I will cooperate in the investigation. I have been called on April 8, and I will go," he told PTI over the phone.
Dismissing the allegations against him as "baseless," Barq expressed faith in the law, Constitution, and judiciary.
Earlier in the day, after the SIT found Barq’s Sambhal residence unoccupied, Superintendent of Police Krishan Kumar Bishnoi stated that the team would travel to Delhi to deliver the notice.
The development comes two days after Zafar Ali, president of the Shahi Jama Masjid Management Committee, was arrested in connection with the violence that erupted on November 24, 2024, during a protest against a court-ordered survey of the Mughal-era mosque. The unrest left four people dead and several others, including police personnel, injured.
On Monday, SP Bishnoi said Barq’s statement was crucial as he had been named as an accused in the case.
With PTI inputs