Meerut: Mohd Waris, an alleged aide of fugitive gangster Shariq Satha and conspirator in the Nov 2024 Sambhal violence, has approached the SC/ST court claiming to be a minor. He submitted a birth certificate issued by Sambhal Nagar Palika Parishad in 2017, which records his date of birth as Jan 1, 2010.
The certificate places Waris’s age at 16, but police said his Aadhaar card records his year of birth as 2004. Police will now examine the original application file submitted in 2017 to verify the documents and the basis on which Waris’s date of birth was recorded. The certificate was allegedly issued in 2017 by then executive officer Rajkumar Gupta, who headed the Nagar Palika from 2011 to 2017. Gupta was arrested on July 2 in connection with the alleged allotment of a 38 bigha plot worth over Rs 101 crore through a fraudulent lease. He was released from Moradabad jail on Aug 12 after securing bail from the Allahabad high court. Waris is among 158 accused, including three women and alleged Satha aides Mulla Afroz and Ghulam, who have been jailed in connection with the violence that erupted on Nov 24, 2024, during a court-ordered survey of Sambhal’s Shahi Jama Masjid. Five people were killed and 29 police personnel, including then Sambhal SP Krishna Kumar Bishnoi and ASP Anuj Chaudhary, were injured in the clashes.
SP Vikas Chandra Tripathi said the court had sought a report on Waris’s age and a DSP had conducted a fresh inquiry to verify the documents. “As of now, the claim that the accused is a minor has turned out to be baseless and we are in the process of filing a detailed report before the court,” Tripathi said on Friday. A police officer said birth certificates generally require hospital or school records.
For applicants more than a year old, additional documents — including a letterhead certificate from a councillor, Aadhaar cards of the parents and witnesses, and a notary affidavit — are also required. Vehicles purchased during his tenure are also under police scrutiny. Hindu petitioners have claimed that the mosque stands on the site of the Sri Harihar temple.