KANPUR: The Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday ordered a probe by the Special Investigating Team (SIT) into the videos that have gone viral on social media where IAS officer Mohammad Iftikharuddin
can be seen telling people the benefits of adopting Islam as a religion.
The videos are said to be a religious event that took place when the IAS officer was posted as Kanpur divisional commissioner.
The purported videos also feature a religious leader sitting beside the officer.
In another video, Iftikharuddin is seen sitting on the ground when a Muslim speaker is purportedly giving radical lessons at his official residence.
The SIT will be headed by DG CB CID GL Meena and ADG Kanpur Zone Bhanu Bhaskar will be a member of the probe team.
“The SIT has been directed to send the investigation report in the case of senior IAS officer Mohammad Iftikharuddin to the government in seven days,” said sources in the state home department.
After the videos, which are said to be around half a dozen in number, went viral on Social media platforms, the national vice-president of Math Mandir Coordination Committee Bhupesh Awasthi also made several allegations against IAS officer Mohammad Iftikharuddin.
Awasthi alleged that in these videos Iftikharuddin was telling people the benefits of adopting Islam as a religion.
Awasthi said,”I have seen the video, in which a lot of inappropriate things are being said against Hinduism. A lot of allegations are being made. Statements are being made in favor of a particular religion.”
Awasthi elaborated that in the viral videos, Iftikharuddin could be seen behaving like a speaker, besides also seen sitting and listening to the speaker.
“In one such video in which he has become a listener, an expert from Muslim religion is speaking on conversion and he is sitting in the forefront and listening carefully to his plea. Muslim expert is inciting conversion by talking about Hindu religion. At the same time, in another video, Iftikharuddin is seen sitting on a chair and reading tales from religious books. He is saying… Declare to the people of the world that the sovereignty and authority of Allah is to be established in the whole world,” he said.
After the videos went viral, police commissioner Aseem Kumar Arun also instructed additional deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Somendra Meena to investigate the matter.
The investigation of the viral videos of IAS officer Mohd Iftikharuddin
taken at Kanpur commissioner’s residence has been entrusted to ADCP East, Police Commissionerate Kanpur Nagar. It is being investigated whether the videos are authentic and if there is any crime in it,” tweeted Police Commissionerate Kanpur Nagar.
On Monday, even deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya during his visit to Unnao had also said, “This is a serious matter. If there is anything like this, it will be taken seriously.”
Mohammad Iftikharuddin was the divisional commissioner of Kanpur from 17 February 2014 to 22 April 2017. Later, he took over the post of Labour Commissioner. At present, he is serving as a chairman of UPSRTC.