Cars Set Ablaze, Tear Gas Lobbed As Mosque Survey Leads To Clashes In Sambhal — WATCH

Tension has been brewing in the area since last Tuesday when the Jama Masjid was surveyed on the orders of a local court following a petition that claimed that a Harihar temple stood at the site.

Videos of cars being set on fire during clashes in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal have surfaced on social media. The clashes broke out when a team reached the area to survey the Mughal-era Shahi Jama Masjid. Police said they used tear gas and "minor force" after locals began pelting stones. Videos of youths throwing stones at police, purportedly near the site of the survey in Sambhal have surfaced on the Internet.

Tension has been brewing in the area since last Tuesday when the Jama Masjid was surveyed on the orders of a local court following a petition that claimed that a Harihar temple stood at the site. A second survey by an "Advocate Commissioner" as part of a court-ordered examination into the disputed site began around 7 am and a crowd began gathering at the spot, local officials said.

"Some miscreants came out of the crowd gathered near the site and pelted stones at the police team. The police used minor force and tear gas to bring the situation under control," Superintendent of Police Krishna Kumar Vishnoi said.

Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Zia Ur Rehman Barq had said the Jama Masjid is historical and very old. "The Supreme Court had given the order in 1991 that whatever religious places are there in whatever condition since 1947, they will remain at their places," he had said.