Sambhal (UP), Jun 4 (PTI) The family of a victim of the 1978 Sambhal riots on Thursday received the first land allotment certificate from the district administration under an initiative to rehabilitate families that left the district following the violence.
Uttar Pradesh Minister J P S Rathore handed over the certificate for a 100-square-metre plot to the family of Ram Sharan Das Rastogi, who migrated from Sambhal in 1979 after the riots.
The plot has been allotted in Alam Sarai Dehat village in Sambhal. The certificate was handed over after a ceremony involving prayers and Vedic rituals, in the presence of Moradabad Divisional Commissioner Anjaneya Kumar, District Magistrate Ankit Khandelwal and Superintendent of Police Krishna Kumar Vishnoi.
The Sambhal riots took place on March 29, 1978. According family members and local accounts, several people were killed in the violence. Rastogi, a trader, was among those killed after his grocery shop was allegedly looted and set on fire. His family alleged that he was stabbed and his body was later thrown into a well.
Speaking to reporters, Rathore said the rehabilitation initiative was aimed at helping affected families rebuild their lives.
“It is an unfortunate situation that during the 1978 riots, more than 100 people lost their lives, homes were burnt and people were subjected to atrocities. Many families were forced to leave. The government has decided to provide 100 square metre land plots so that such people can return and rebuild their homes,” he said.
Rastogi’s grandson Kapil Rastogi, who lives in Delhi, said his grandfather was sitting at his shop in the Nakhasa area on March 29, 1978, when a mob arrived.
“After looting the shop, they attacked my grandfather when he resisted. He was stabbed repeatedly and later his body was found in a well,” he alleged.
Kapil said the family left Sambhal in 1979 after receiving threats and had lived away from the district for decades. He said the family approached the authorities after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath raised the issue of the 1978 riots in the state Assembly.
“After a long struggle of 48 years, we feel that justice has finally been done,” he said.
A family member, Rukma Rastogi, said the family was forced to leave Sambhal after receiving threats following the riots.
“We want to return and build our home here. We are grateful to the Chief Minister and the district administration,” she said. PTI COR KIS MDO MDO
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