A response has been submitted in court by the ASI, seeking control and management of the Shahi Jama Masjid as it is a 'heritage structure'.

SAMBHAL: Amid tight security, members of a judicial commission on Sunday visited the Shahi Jama Masjid here and other areas which witnessed violence over a court-ordered survey of the Mughal-era mosque.

The judicial commission appointed to probe the violence that erupted in Sambhal on November 24 visited the town on Sunday and began their probe. The district administration heightened security in the violence-hit area in view of the commission’s visit.

Security has increased around Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, before Friday prayers due to recent tensions. The RAF and drones are deployed to maintain order after violence during ASI's examination of the mosque.

The petition contends that the survey at Sambhal's Jama Masjid, ordered by a civil judge, was conducted hastily and could lead to communal tensions, jeopardizing the secular fabric of the country.

The Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday ordered a judicial probe into the Sambhal violence case, a day before the Supreme Court is set to hear a plea against the Mosque survey order.

The plea noted that the survey has triggered communal tensions in the region and it should be halted as soon as possible.

Police held a flag march in areas near the Shahi Jama Masjid on Thursday, a day before Friday prayers, with top officials saying watertight security was put in place to prevent untoward incidents