A picture of a Naib Tehsildar praying in a mosque went viral sparking controversy in the Hamirpur district of Uttar Pradesh. He is identified as Ashish Gupta who reportedly took a Muslim woman as his second wife after converting to Islam. The Tehsildar, Balram Gupta personally arrived at the location to look into the matter when the administration sensed something suspicious and afterwards learned of the development.
The incident transpired in the Maudaha Police Station area where the accused went to offer Namaz in a mosque regularly for two days. He tried to conceal his real identity and introduced himself as Mohammed Yusuf from Kanpur when questions were raised because he was a stranger there. People were surprised when he informed them that he was Naib Tehsildar of Maudha Tehsil. The mosque management then immediately notified the authorities and officials reached the spot to probe the issue on the night of 25h December where they recorded statements of those in attendance.
Muhammad Mushtaq, a cleric in the mosque stated that an unknown individual was coming to perform namaz repeatedly. He further disclosed, “We alerted the authorities after he claimed to be Mohammed Yusuf, a Kanpur resident and Naib Tehsildar of Maudaha. The Tehsildar arrived last night to inquire about the same. All of the witnesses’ statements have been documented and signed by the investigating officer.” The perpetrator has been posted in the region since 2nd September 2023 and hasn’t visited the religious place since the row erupted.
According to Bajrang Dal’s former District Coordinator Ashish Singh of Maudha town, the man is not Mohammad Yusuf but Nayab Tehsildar Ashish Gupta who is posted in Maudha Tehsil. He lives in Kanpur district and is already married with two children. However, he recently embraced Islam to tie the knot with a Muslim woman belonging to Maudha and has started praying in the Kachariya Baba mosque. Bajrang Dal has demanded strict action from the administration.
Ashish Gupta had been at the mosque for two days, per investigating officer Balram Gupta. The cop mentioned that he also discussed learning Urdu from someone but is unaware of the matter relating to Namaz. The officer did, however, ask the on-site religious scholars whether or not a follower of another faith is prohibited from performing namaz in a mosque to which they responded that there is no such objection, but they don’t want to be accused of anything in the instance.
Additional District Magistrate Arun Mishra said that a probe has been launched. Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Rajesh Mishra remarked that a cleric from the mosque told them about the issue on the evening of 25th December following which a probe was conducted after the Tehsildar along with other cops arrived at the scene. The offender admitted that he had visited the mosque to study Urdu during the investigation which is currently ongoing and a report would be submitted to higher authorities.