UP: Barabanki Mosque demolished; Samajwadi Party seeks judicial investigation

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday demanded a judicial probe into the demolition of the Barabanki mosque and called for its restoration. Yadav’s statement comes a day after the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board said it will approach the HC demanding a judicial enquiry, mosque restoration and action against the guilty officers, who carried out the demolition in defiance of an HC order.

Yadav tore into the BJP-led UP government over the demolition, saying, with assembly polls approaching, BJP has “activated” communal tension in the state just the way it has been doing its politics by destroying the “Ganga-Jamuni” culture of the state.

Yadav said a sitting judge of the HC should probe the event and that a group of party representatives will also get in touch with district officials.