The three-member committee instituted to probe the Sambhal violence case has submitted its report to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the state Information Department said.

The report, which runs into 450 pages, recorded the events of the November 2024 Sambhal violence, along with references to previous riots in the city.

It highlighted demographic changes in Sambhal, noting that at one time the Hindu community made up 45 per cent of the population but their share has now fallen to 20 per cent.

According to the findings, at the time of independence 55 per cent of the population were Muslims and 45 per cent were Hindus. The Hindu proportion has since declined to 15 per cent, while the Muslim community has risen to 85 per cent.

The report documents that 15 riots have taken place in Sambhal since independence.

On 24 November 2024, violence broke out during a court-directed Archaeological Survey of India survey at the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal. The incident resulted in the deaths of four people and injuries to several others, including officials and local residents.

As crowds of Muslims gathered outside the mosque and tensions escalated, police resorted to force and opened fire on protesters, four men were killed during the scuffles and several others including both officials and locals were injured.

The violence led to the registration of 12 FIRs and 80 arrests of individuals suspected of pelting stones at the police from rooftops. The charge sheet named a total of 159 accused in the case.

The report further stated that weapons seized from the area and other locations were manufactured in Germany, the United States, and the United Kingdom. The Uttar Pradesh Police’s Special Investigation Team filed a charge sheet running over 4,000 pages in six of the 12 cases.

Following the incident, the state government formed a three-member judicial inquiry commission to investigate the Sambhal violence. The commission comprised retired judge Devendra Arora, former DGP A K Jain, and former IAS officer Amit Mohan Prasad.