Sambhal violence: ‘Autopsy rules out police firing caused deaths’

The autopsy reports of the four persons killed in Sunday’s clashes in Sambhal suggested that the wounds on their bodies were from bullets not consistent with the ammunition used by UP Police, Moradabad divisional commissioner Aunjaneya Kumar Singh said on Tuesday.

No bullets were, however, recovered from the bodies during the postmortem, he added.

His statement came in the wake of allegations that the four died in police firing.

The reports of the four deceased identified as Ayan, Bilal, Naeem and Kaif, however, were not made public. Also, the administration extended the internet ban in the area for another 24 hours till 4 am on Wednesday, while an uneasy calm prevailed under the cover of a massive security cordon.

A local police official also confirmed that no bullets were recovered during the autopsies since they exited the bodies of all four men. Citing the reports, he stated Ayan suffered a bullet wound in the abdomen which damaged his liver. The other three were wounded on the chest, he added.

He added that the reports confirmed antemortem (before death) injuries on three of the four men. He said such injuries were seen on the knees and elbows of Bilal, the knees, hands and legs of Kaif and the forehead, elbows and knees Naeem.

He stated the reports and photographs of the bullet wounds would now be sent for forensic examination to verify which type of bullet killed them.

He reiterated the divisional commissioner’s claims and stated that no firing was done by police. “Cops only fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the mob after it resorted to pelting stones,” he added. The local authorities in Sambhal earlier claimed that the police only had anti-riots equipment such as tear gas and rubber bullets with them.

A senior police official said the postmortem reports ruled out the possibility of 9 mm bullets, which are used by UP Police, causing the death of the four. “The report confirms that the wounds on the deceased’s bodies were from bullets different than 9 mm,” he added.

‘Rioters torched S-I’s bike, steal magazine with cartridges’

Rioters looted a magazine and its 10 cartridges while trying to steal the service 9mm pistol of sub-inspector (S-I) Mohd Shah Faisal during the clashes in Sambhal’s Naksha Crossing on Sunday afternoon, according to one of the seven FIRs lodged against the rioters. The mob also torched his motorcycle and a police patrol bike at the junction.

HT has a copy of the FIR lodged by the S-I at Naksha police station.

Faisal, who is the in-charge of Deep Sarai police outpost under Naksha police station, stated in his FIR against six identified and 200 unidentified persons that the mob was equipped with hockey sticks and canes when he, along with other police personnel, was patrolling the locality.

He said the mob also damaged CCTV cameras installed there before torching his bike and the patrol vehicle and later surrounded him and his team and started pelting stones in which he and two police constables, Gopal Singh and Nishant Malik, were injured.

“The violent mob tried to snatch my service pistol while I was trying to pacify them. I somehow managed to keep the pistol, but the magazine and its ten cartridges were stolen by the mob. It seems that the mob had come well prepared equipped...” the SI said in the FIR.

On Sunday morning, violence erupted in Sambhal when protesters opposed the second round of a survey in the Shahi Jama Masjid led by the “court commissioner” to verify the claims of the Hindu side that the mosque was built over a temple during the rule of Mughal emperor Babur in 1529. Four people were killed and more than 20 police personnel and officials sustained injuries in the clashes.