A probe by the Special Investigative Team (SIT) of the UP police has confirmed that IAS officer Mohammad Iftikharuddin forced many to convert to Islam, across 8 districts in UP. 

Iftikharuddin is the former Divisional Commissioner of Kanpur and chairman of Uttar Pradesh State Transport Corporation. He forced many to convert in Sachendi near Kanpur, Unnao & Auraiya. He coerced and converted people in Saharanpur & Muzaffarnagar in Western UP too.

SIT now has a whole list of conversion cases that this Islamist bureaucrat indulged in. During interrogation, the Islamist confessed to his crimes. Investigators alleged that he has no remorse and tried hard to justify his religious fanaticism. They found that he used provocative literature and propaganda to aid in conversions.

It was found that Iftikharuddin threatened to ruin the lives of his victims if they refused to convert. In the Kalyanpur area of Kanpur, he is alleged to have terrorized the villagers asking them to convert or end up losing their homes. 

Back in 2016, he approached the residents and wanted them to vacate their land for the metro project. The financially backward residents asked him to leave them alone and that is when he offered help if they convert to Islam. 

Iftikharuddin’s personal assistant proceeded to distribute Islamic literature. The literature included two books titled ‘Shuddh upasana tatha naman’ (pure worship and prayer) and ‘shuddh bhakti’ (pure bhakti) written in Hindi by Iftikharuddin himself. The conversion mafia led by this IAS is said to have distributed the same in many settlements belonging to the poor.

The villagers rejected and thwarted several attempts of conversion. The issue was finally resolved when the residents approached the courts.  

Viral videos had emerged showing Iftikharuddin urging a group of Muslims to spread Islam all over the world. Not a single one should be spared from conversion, he exhorted his followers. He held such private meetings at his official residence and used the opportunity to fan Islamist thoughts and promote conversions.   

Last month, UP CM Yogi Adityanath took cognizance of the issue and an SIT was set up. It was assigned the task of examining allegations of anti-Hindu propaganda by the senior IAS officer.

The two-member SIT consisted of DG CB-CID G.L. Meena as its head and was assisted by Kanpur ADG Bhanu Bhaskar. Investigations confirmed that the residence shown in the video was indeed his official residence in Kanpur. 

The team examined over 80 videos and completed the investigation in 20 days. 7 books written by the accused were also analyzed. SIT found that they contained matters related to conversion and religious bigotry. 

SIT submitted its report to the government recently. Iftikharuddin’s statement too was enclosed along with the report. The government’s action is now awaited. 

Such bigotry and fanaticism, extremely harmful to social harmony, by a serving IAS officer shows that the fear of ‘UPSC jihad’ is indeed justified. That issue came to light when data analysis showed a pro-Muslim bias in the UPSC selection process, in order to fulfill government goals of increasing Muslim representation in the bureaucracy.

Equally disturbing was the revelation that many Muslim IAS candidates are coached by an organization called Zakat Foundation (ZF), which has links with fugitive Islamist criminal Zakir Naik and other foreign Islamist organisations. Maulana Kalim Siddiqi, a member of ZF’s highest authority, Shariah Advisory Council, has openly demeaned Hindu Dharma and called its followers ‘jahannami‘ or hell-bound. Siddiqui was recently arrested for his leading role in a nation-wide Islamic conversion racket that received funds from Pakistan and other Islamic nations.

As a nation, we need to ensure there are multiple checks and balances to prevent the appointment of radicals into the bureaucracy or any government department. One of the important steps in that direction will be to crack down on dangerous organizations like Zakat Foundation, PFI, Tablighi Jamaat etc. and the radical seminaries like Deoband which seed such supremacist ideas.