Sambhal lawyers stage pen-down protest against advocate Zafar Ali’s ‘illegal’ arrest

Advocates in Sambhal staged a 'pen-down' protest on Monday against the arrest of Shahi Jama Masjid Committee chief and senior lawyer Zafar Ali by the Uttar Pradesh Special Investigation Team (SIT), arguing that his detention was unlawful and politically motivated.

Ali was arrested on charges of criminal conspiracy related to the November 24 violence in the city, which resulted in the deaths of four people and left several others injured, and the police accused him of inciting rioters and fabricating evidence to secure wrongful convictions.

A legal source close to Ali alleged that his arrest, which came exactly four months after the incident, was intended to prevent him from appearing before a judicial commission in Lucknow, and his brother Tahir Ali echoed similar concerns, claiming that the police acted unconstitutionally to stop him from testifying.

A group of lawyers at the Sambhal court voiced strong opposition to Ali’s arrest and led a procession through the market, raising slogans against the police administration, while Advocate Shakeel Ahmad claimed that the charges against Ali were baseless and intended to prevent him from testifying in a judicial commission in Lucknow.

Ahmad further stated that if such actions continued, protests would intensify across Uttar Pradesh and the entire country, and other legal professionals expressed solidarity with Ali, calling his arrest a blatant attempt to suppress dissent.

The lawyers, in an act of defiance, refused to carry out legal duties until Ali was released, and Advocate Amit Uthbal asserted that the entire legal community stood united against the police and would persist in their agitation.

Following Ali’s arrest, authorities deployed heavy security around Shahi Jama Masjid, with Rapid Action Force (RAF) and Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) personnel stationed in the area, while CCTV and drone surveillance were activated to maintain law and order. A flag march was also conducted as a precautionary measure, and Sambhal Circle Officer Anuj Chaudhary described the march as a routine procedure meant to ensure peace, adding that lawyers had the right to protest.

Ali was arrested under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code, including rioting, obstructing public servants, endangering public safety, and causing property damage, and his arrest was linked to one of the 12 FIRs filed against 159 individuals following the violence.

Police sources alleged that Ali played a pivotal role in planning the unrest, which erupted after he opposed a proposed survey of the historical mosque by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), and his involvement in mobilising locals against the survey, which was abruptly halted on November 19, 2024, is also under investigation.

The riots saw the use of illegal foreign-made firearms, with reports of gunfire, stone-pelting, and arson emerging from Nakhasa Tiraha, Kotgarvi, and Hindupura Kheda, while panic spread through the area, leading several families to flee and about 300 properties to remain locked.

Sambhal Superintendent of Police Krishan Bishnoi announced Ali’s arrest for criminal conspiracy, while the same FIR named Sambhal MP Zia-ur-Rehman Barq, who was accused of inciting violence through a speech, and police officials claimed that additional charges were invoked against Ali to ensure his detention.

His associates questioned the legitimacy of the case, pointing out that he was not named in the initial FIR and had only accused the police of firing at the crowd during a press conference held a day after the violence, which was done under the administration’s watch.