For nearly 48 years, the Rastogi family lived without stability after grocery trader Ramsharan Das Rastogi was killed during the riots that scarred Sambhal in March 1978. His body was allegedly dumped in a well during the violence.
Sambhal Violence (File photo:ANI)
Almost five decades after communal violence uprooted their lives, a riot-affected family in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal is finally being rehabilitated on the very land they were forced to abandon during the 1978 riots.
For nearly 48 years, the Rastogi family lived without stability after grocery trader Ramsharan Das Rastogi was killed during the violence that scarred Sambhal in March 1978. Fear, displacement and uncertainty followed the family for generations after the riots triggered a mass exodus of Hindu families from several parts of the town.
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Now, the administration has allotted residential land to the victim’s family as part of a rehabilitation effort initiated after appeals for justice and resettlement.
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The development comes months after authorities excavated a well linked to the 1978 riots in November 2025, a site where Ramsharan Rastogi’s body was allegedly dumped during the violence.
Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh: Authorities began excavating a well connected to the 1978 riots, but a tree came in the way. Today, early morning, around 4 AM, the forest department team cut down the tree. After the tree was removed, the excavation of the well can now resume at any time pic.twitter.com/R2HTrV3Eyq
— IANS (@ians_india) November 28, 2025
Acting on the directions of District Magistrate Ankit Khandelwal, officials allotted a 100-square-metre residential plot to Rukman Rastogi, daughter-in-law of Ramsharan Das Rastogi and wife of late Subhash Chandra Rastogi.
The plot is located in the Sherkhan Sarai Bahar Chungi area.
The allotment certificate is scheduled to be handed over during a public programme near Maharana Pratap Chowk on Chhota Hasanpur Road. District Magistrate Ankit Khandelwal and Superintendent of Police Krishna Kumar Vishnoi are expected to remain present during the event.
BJP district president Chaudhary Harendra Singh and Acharya Pramod Krishnam are also likely to attend the programme along with senior administrative officials.
Sambhal witnessed large-scale communal violence on March 29, 1978. The riots led to killings, arson and widespread destruction across several localities.
The violence forced many Hindu families to flee the town amid an atmosphere of panic and insecurity. Houses and shops were allegedly occupied during the unrest, while several families sold their properties at extremely low prices before leaving the area permanently.
Among those affected were dozens of families, many of whom never returned.
The riots continued to haunt the town for decades, with survivors repeatedly raising concerns over the absence of accountability and delayed justice.
The issue regained attention after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath referred to the Sambhal riots during his address in the Assembly.
He stated that since 1947, as many as 209 Hindus had lost their lives in communal riots in Sambhal. He also referred to the violence and arson reported during the March 1978 unrest.
Following the Chief Minister’s remarks, officials initiated meetings with riot-affected families and began reviewing pending issues linked to rehabilitation and displacement.
For the Rastogi family, the rehabilitation effort marks the first formal recognition of a loss carried across generations.
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