Uttar Pradesh government has ordered a judicial inquiry into the recent incident of violence in Sambhal in which at least four persons lost their lives. A three-member committee headed by retired High Court judge Devendra Kumar Arora has been handed the responsibility of conducting an investigation into the matter. The two other members of the committee are retired IAS officer Amit Mohan Prasad and former IPS officer Arvind Kumar Jain. The committee had been directed to submit its report within two months. An order to constitute the committee was issued by the Home Department of Uttar Pradesh yesterday. The order said, it is necessary to investigate whether the incident of violence that took place on November 24 during the survey ordered by the Court in the Jama Masjid vs Harihar Mandir dispute was a pre-planned conspiracy or a normal criminal incident.

Meanwhile, Supreme Court is scheduled to hear today a petition challenging the November 19 order of a district court, which directed that a survey be undertaken of the disputed site in Sambhal. A bench headed by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna is scheduled to hear the plea filed by the Management Committee of the Jama Masjid.