Lucknow: The Sambhal judicial inquiry commission found major contradictions in the testimonies of several key witnesses, including Jama Masjid Intazamia Committee office-bearers and politicians, and concluded that their statements were “unreliable and unbelievable”.The three-member panel observed that multiple witnesses appeared to have advanced a common narrative portraying the Nov 24 exercise as a fresh survey, despite evidence that the court-ordered survey initiated on Nov 19 had remained incomplete.The commission pointed to conflicting accounts by Jama Masjid Intazamia Committee president Zafar Ali and advocates Qasim Jamal and Mashhood Ali Farooqui over how they first learnt about the survey. While Zafar Ali claimed the advocates informed him about the proceedings on Nov 19, both advocates told the commission that Zafar Ali had informed them later that day.Contradictions emerged over whether the Nov 19 survey had been completed. Zafar Ali maintained that it had concluded, while Mashhood Ali stated he was aware that the exercise remained unfinished.The commission further flagged inconsistencies in the testimony of Sambhal MP Zia-ur-Rahman Barq. Barq told the panel he had no discussion with Zafar Ali regarding the Nov 24 survey. However, Zafar Ali said he spoke to the MP on the intervening night of Nov 23-24, following which Barq advised him to approach the DM and SP seeking a stay on the survey.The report also noted discrepancies regarding speeches delivered at the mosque on Nov 19 and Nov 22. While Barq claimed he was only responding to media queries, the commission said other evidence suggested he had addressed people gathered at the site.Questioning the testimony of Suhail Iqbal, the panel noted that although he denied interfering with the survey on Nov 19, statements by the Advocate Commissioner and other witnesses indicated that he and Barq had obstructed the proceedings and indirectly threatened members of the survey team.The commission also rejected Iqbal’s claim that he remained at advocate Mashhood Ali Farooqui’s residence during the Nov 24 violence. Police witnesses, including sub-inspector Deepak Rathi and inspector Anuj Kumar Tomar, told the panel that Iqbal was repeatedly seen moving among the crowd and remained in contact with people during the unrest.Based on these contradictions, the commission concluded that the witnesses’ versions lacked credibility and appeared to be the result of a “prior meeting of minds”.It held that an attempt was made to portray the November 24 proceedings as a re-survey and use that narrative to justify the large gathering outside the mosque despite prohibitory orders under Section 163 BNSS and repeated appeals by the administration to maintain peace.
