Samajwadi Party leader and Member of Parliament Zia-ur-Rehman Barq has approached the Allahabad High Court seeking protection from arrest in a case related to the violence that erupted in Sambhal following a court-ordered survey of a mosque. The violence resulted in five deaths and numerous injuries.

In his petition, Barq claims the charges against him are politically motivated and denies any involvement in the unrest. He accuses the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Uttar Pradesh of using false allegations to harass and intimidate him.

The clashes occurred after a court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid, with Barq and Sohail Iqbal, the son of a local MLA, named in the FIR lodged by Uttar Pradesh police. Police allege that Barq made inflammatory remarks during a visit to the mosque just before the violence, but Barq has denied this, asserting that he was in Bengaluru at the time of both the survey and the incident, not in Sambhal.

On November 19, a civil court in Sambhal had instructed an advocate commissioner to survey the Shahi Jama Masjid in response to a plea from advocate Hari Shankar Jain and others, claiming the mosque was built over a demolished temple during the Mughal era.

The survey order led to violent protests, with stone-pelting and vehicle arson resulting in the deaths of four individuals. Further violence broke out on November 24 when a team of surveyors arrived in Chandausi town to conduct a second survey of the mosque.

In a related development, there is a pending plea before the High Court seeking the registration of an FIR against police officers and the district magistrate in connection with the deaths during the communal unrest.