FIR filed against Mufti over alleged remarks on madrasa closures

Rudrapur: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has said strict action will be taken against a Mufti accused of making inflammatory remarks over the state government’s action against allegedly illegal madrasas.

Police have registered an FIR against Ulema Mufti Mujeeb after taking note of a purported video in which he is allegedly seen delivering an inflammatory speech during a Milad-un-Nabi procession at Trishul Chowk in Rudrapur, Udham Singh Nagar district, on August 26.

Speaking to reporters in Khatima on Friday, Dhami said the period when governments gave in to threats for electoral appeasement had ended.

The Chief Minister described the alleged remarks as reflecting an ideology that encourages encroachment, disregards the Constitution and resorts to threats.

“Gone are the days when people would succumb to their threats and engage in appeasement for the sake of their votes… The government has changed now. Since (Narendra) Modi ji became the Prime Minister, the rule of law has been established in the country. We have constitutional norms, and things operate according to them,” Dhami said.

He said Uttarakhand would not be intimidated and asserted that the administration would locate the Mufti and take the strictest action permitted under the law.

Dhami also said the state government had cleared more than 13,000 acres of land from encroachment and illegal occupation, adding that the drive would continue.

The purported video, which has gone viral on social media, allegedly shows Mufti Mujeeb, identified as the principal of Kheda Madrasa, warning of consequences if madrasas were closed. He is allegedly heard saying that people should “wait and see what Muslims would do” if madrasas were shut down.

The Mufti also allegedly raised the issue of eight acres of Eidgah land taken over by the municipal corporation last year and demanded that it be returned.

Rudrapur Mayor Vikas Sharma said no pressure would be tolerated over government land. He maintained that not even an inch of government land would be handed over under pressure and claimed that the land acquired by the municipal corporation had been under illegal encroachment.

Amid the controversy over the viral video, Mufti Mujeeb is reportedly not at his home. Police said they registered the FIR after taking cognisance of the video.

Circle Officer Vibhav Saini said the alleged remarks were an attempt to disturb communal harmony. He said the case was registered on the instructions of the district’s Senior Superintendent of Police.

However, Dr Shahid Raza, manager of the Milad-un-Nabi procession committee, rejected the allegations and claimed that the video being circulated on social media was fake and generated using artificial intelligence.