Probe against Vastanvi: Committee records statements

MUZAFFARNAGAR: The three-member inquiry committee of Darul Uloom Deoband has recorded statements of students and teachers of the seminary into the allegations against incumbent VC Ghulam Mohammad Vastanvi.

The committee also collected cuttings of newspaper reports against Vastanvi during its first sitting in Deoband here yesterday.

60-year-old Vastanvi, who hails from Gujarat and has an MBA degree, was elected VC on January 10. The moderate Maulana, who has a Facebook page in his name, had triggered a controversy soon after his appointment with his remarks praising Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's rule and his development policy.

He had reportedly said that Muslims should forget the communal riots of 2002 and move on and that the community did not face discrimination in Gujarat.

The report of the committee will later be submitted to Majlis-e-Shura or the governing council of Darul Uloom, Kanpuri said.

The Governing Council constituted a three-member committee, comprising of Mufti Mazoor Ahmad from Kanpur, Mufti Mohammad Ismail from Malegaon and Maulana Mohammad Ibrahim from Chennai, to look into the allegations against Vastanvi and all other issues concerning both inside and and outside the seminary.