On Tuesday, the Uttar Pradesh government initiated a probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) against Mohammad Iftikaruddin, a senior IAS official after a video of him attending a ‘religious conversion’ event at his official residence went viral. He is currently serving as the Chairman of Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC).
The viral video has been shared by the verified Twitter account of Neeraj Jain, the deputy Mayor of the municipal corporation in Ajmer, Rajasthan. Many social media users pointed out that it was filmed at a government accommodation in Kanpur town where Iftikharuddin was the commissioner between February 2014 and April 2017.
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The state Home Department in a tweet said that a two-member SIT has been formed by the government to look into the matter and submit a report in seven days. CB-CID Director-General GL Meena will head the SIT while ADG (Kanpur) Bhanu Bhaskar will be its member.
Kanpur police on Monday evening tweeted that they are trying to verify the authenticity of the videos and whether any crime has been committed or not.
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In the 106-second video, the IAS officer has been heard talking about the virtues of Islam. A group of people are seated on the floor and a person is heard preaching religious sermons in the presence of the officer.