New Delhi, April 16: Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Ziaur Rehman Barq on Wednesday appeared before the three-member judicial commission in Lucknow, which is probing the violence that erupted in UP’s Sambhal on November 24, last year.

The violence took place during a court-mandated ASI survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid, and Barq has been accused of delivering an inflammatory speech that allegedly incited unrest.

Speaking ahead of his appearance, Barq maintained his innocence and expressed faith in the judiciary.

“Today, I am appearing before the committee. I hope we will get justice,” the SP MP said. “I will answer the questions they will ask. And I am going with the hope that we will get justice,” he added.

Barq has consistently denied the allegations, calling them unfounded and politically motivated.

Former high court judge Justice DK Arora, former chief secretary Amit Mohan Prasad and ex-DGP Arvind Kumar Jain are the members of judicial commission, constituted by the state government on November 28, last year.

Barq had previously appeared before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on April 8 in connection with the same case.

The judicial commission is currently recording statements from key individuals to determine the causes of the unrest and the roles, if any, played by public representatives.

The commission is also expected to record statements of Jama Masjid managing committee chairman Zafar Ali, currently lodged in Moradabad prison. He was arrested by the Sambhal police for allegedly orchestrating violence in the district during ASI survey of the mosque.

The incident in question dates back to November 24, 2023, when clashes broke out during a survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid. Several individuals were booked in connection with the violence.

Bengaluru, April 15: In a shocking case of moral policing, a young Muslim woman was harassed in a park in Bengaluru by a group of individuals for being seen with a Hindu male companion.

The incident came to light after a 2-minute-14-second video went viral on social media on Tuesday. The police are currently verifying the details of the incident.

In the video, one of the men, who appears to be recording the couple, authoritatively asks the young woman to hand over her burqa and is seen threatening her.

The video shows the group approaching the couple and asking the young woman her name. When she tries to hide behind the youth, they question him, saying she is a Muslim and he is a Hindu — how can they be sitting together?

The youth responds that they are friends. One of the men in the group claims that they are more than friends and says he has the full video as evidence.

The man continues to heckle the young woman, demanding that she come to him and reveal her name as he is calling other members of his group to come to the spot. He repeatedly insists that she state her name.

He further says, “If you want to do all this, do it without wearing the burqa. She belongs to our (Muslim) community. Give me my burqa,” he demands.

When the young woman holds her friend’s hand and tries to leave, the man follows them and insists she hand over the burqa before leaving.

He continues to torment her, saying, “What antics are you up to? You want to hold his hand? Do you have any respect for the burqa? I want you to hand it over,” he insists.

“You go to hell — we don’t care. First take off the burqa, then go,” the man is heard telling her.

The woman pleads with them not to create an issue. However, the man accuses her, claiming they had been watching her since she entered a hotel. He questions her, asking how she can behave like that as a Muslim.

On April 11, the Karnataka Police arrested four individuals, including a minor, in connection with a case of moral policing reported under the Chandra Layout police station limits in Bengaluru.

The accused allegedly confronted a Muslim woman for speaking with a youth from another community. They verbally abused her and attempted to assault her.

DCP (West) S. Girish s, “Within the limits of Chandra Layout police station, a boy and a girl were sitting on a bike in front of a park. Upon seeing them, a group of four to five men approached and began questioning them. The woman was wearing a burqa.”

“The accused questioned her about why she was at the location and whether she had informed her family. Based on the young woman’s complaint, we registered a case and arrested the four accused. We have also taken the minor involved into custody,” the DCP said.

Police sources stated that the young Muslim female stood her ground and confronted the group, questioning their interference in her personal matters. She reportedly told them that the person she was speaking to was her classmate and asked why she should give out her family’s contact information. Her family lodged a police complaint later.

Kolkata, April 14: The total number of arrests in connection with the violence in pockets of the Murshidabad district of West Bengal has crossed 200, informed a senior official of the state police on Monday.

Several areas in the district witnessed violent protests over the newly-promulgated Waqf (Amendment) Act last week, with Hindus being subjected to targeted violence in particular.

Confirming that the arrests on this count have crossed 200, Additional Director General (law & order) of state police Javed Shamim said the situation in the troubled pockets both in Murshidabad and Malda districts is more or less normal now

“The route marches in the troubled areas are being conducted continuously. Senior police officials are there at the spot. The situation is fast becoming normal. The shops and establishments have started opening,” he said.

However, he added that there are attempts to spread rumours about the situation by some vested interests from other states and to prevent that spreading of rumours, Internet services have been suspended for the time being in certain areas.

He also said that the process of ensuring the return of the displaced persons to their homes has already started.

In the meantime, tension surfaced at the minority-dominated Bhangar Assembly constituency in the South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal on Monday afternoon.

Clashes broke out between the cops and the supporters of All India Secular Front (AISF) from Bhangar after the latter were stopped from approaching the venue of their protests at Kolkata against the Waqf (Amendment) Act.

The AISF supporters blocked the Basanti Highway in protests, following which the traffic movement there got heavily disrupted. The AISF activists refused to refrain from blocking the highways despite repeated requests from the police.

The AISF legislator from Bhangar, Nausad Siddique, who is his party’s lone representative in the state Assembly, said the police are mainly responsible for spreading tension over the Waqf issue.

“This is just to divert attention from the public unrest over the recent cancellation of 25,753 school jobs following an order of the Supreme Court. We were stopped unnecessarily, and the police deliberately did it to create tension. We will go the legal way in the matter,” he said.