Sambhal violence report flags demographic shift, blames riots: 'Only 15% Hindus remain'

The town of Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh saw violent rioting over a court-mandated survey at the Shahi Jama Masjid.

A report of approximately 450 pages has been submitted to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday regarding the violence in Sambhal.

After it was released, BJP's national spokesperson in a post on X said that the probe report revealed that Hindus in Sambhal municpal area have reduced been reduced  from 45% to 15%. "Hindus in Sambal. 1947- 45%, now 15% . Demography is democracy's destiny," he said.

The investigation committee report on Sambal violence reveals:

Hindus in Sambal have reduced from 45% to 15%. Hindus in Sambal 1947 45% Now 15% Demography is democracy's destiny! — Pradeep Bhandari(प्रदीप भंडारी)🇮🇳 (@pradip103) August 28, 2025

The town of Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh saw violent rioting over a court-mandated survey at the Shahi Jama Masjid. Five people were killed and many were injured in clashes that followed protests over the survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid in Chandausi.

The police  arrested dozens of people and registered cases against 400 people. The UP government has ordered a judicial probe into the violence.

According to ANI, the  report stated that during Independence, 55% of the population was Muslim and 45% Hindu in the Sambhal Nagar Palika area.  However, now, the Hindu population has decreased to 15%, whereas the Muslim community has increased to 85%.

A total of 15 riots took place in Sambhal since Independence. It also mentioned that the weapons recovered from the site of violence and other places were manufactured in the United Kingdom, USA, and Germany. The Uttar Pradesh Police's Special Investigation Team (SIT) had filed a chargesheet of over 4,000 pages in six of the 12 cases.

Following the violence, the UP government constituted a three-tier judicial inquiry commission to investigate Sambhal violence. The commission is chaired by retired judge Devendra Arora, former DGP AK Jain and former IAS Amit Mohan Prasad.

Controversy erupted when as many as eight petitioners, including advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, filed the case in the Sambhal court, contending that a Shri Hari Har Temple dedicated to Lord Kalki once stood at the site, which was demolished by Mughal emperor Babur in 1529. Alleging that the present mosque stood on the site of the historic temple, the plea urged the civil court to direct the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to take control of the alleged temple.