Man alleges UP IAS officer Mohammad Iftikharuddin lured him to convert to Islam

The person said that he would testify against the IAS officer if summoned by the SIT.

Even as the SIT begins its investigation into charges of forcing religious conversions against Uttar Pradesh IAS officer Mohammad Iftikharuddin, former president of Rajkiya Unnayan Basti in Kalyanpur has alleged that the officer had once even "lured him to convert to Islam".

Nirmal Kumar Tyagi, former president of Rajkiya Unnayan Basti, told reporters that in October 2016, the then divisional commissioner Mohammad Iftikharuddin's convoy reached Kalyanpur and residents of the settlement were told that they would have to vacate the place, as this land was to be used for the Metro project.

Tyagi alleged that when he pleaded the commissioner not to destroy their houses, keeping in mind their poor financial conditions, the commissioner started to lure him to convert to Islam by offering him money. "When the commissioner was making this suggestion, a person present there started giving him literature related to Islam," said Tyagi.

He further said, "Several attempts of conversion were made in the settlement. However, the locals decided that they would not accept the offer. When they approached the court regarding the issue of vacating the settlement, the crisis was resolved."

When asked, he said that he would testify against the IAS officer if summoned by the SIT.

Iftikharuddin is presently serving as the Chairman of Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation.

It may be recalled that the national vice president of Math Mandir Coordination Committee, Bhupesh Awasthi, had alleged that Iftikharuddin was indulging in anti-Hindu propaganda.

Awasthi released videos of religious programmes of the officer who was then the Kanpur Zone Commissioner. It is alleged that in these videos, Iftikharuddin is telling people about the benefits of adopting Islam as a religion. The purported videos also show a religious leader sitting besides the IAS officer.

In another video, Iftikharuddin is seen sitting on the ground when a Muslim speaker is purportedly giving radical lessons at his official residence. After the video surfaced, Kanpur Police Commissioner Aseem Arun asked Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Somendra Meena to investigate the matter.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had summoned the Police Commissioner Aseem Arun to Lucknow on Tuesday in this regard. Later, the Yogi Adityanath government set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the charges of anti-Hindu propaganda by senior IAS officer Mohammad Iftikharuddin. The two-member SIT is headed by DG CB-CID G.L. Meena and ADG zone Bhanu Bhaskar