The Uttar Pradesh Police on Wednesday filed a case against the principal of a private school in Prayagraj after she reportedly told students to post videos wearing “Eid attire” as part of an activity, The Indian Express reported.
The police filed a first information report against the principal, Bushra Mustafa, under Indian Penal Code sections about promoting enmity between different groups and acts intended to outrage religious feelings. She was also booked under the Information Technology Act Section 67, which is about publishing or transmitting obscene material in an electronic form.
Vishwa Hindu Parishad member, Lalmani Tiwari, had filed the complaint against Mustafa, PTI reported. Mustafa is the principal of the Nyaya Nagar Public School, which is affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education.
According to the complaint, Mustafa asked boys to wear a kurta and a cap, and girls to wear a salwar-kurta and dupatta on May 3 for the video. The principal is said to have asked them to make 20-second videos wishing people a happy Eid.
Tiwari alleged that this was an attempt to attract students toward a particular religion. “This can be regarded as a step in the direction of religious conversion,” he said.
Mustafa misused her position as the principal to hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus, Tiwari alleged, according to the Hindustan Times. “The motive of the principal is clear as she never gave any activity to children on Akshay Tritiya and Parshuram Jayanti, which were also on May 3,” he said.
The police were recording Mustafa’s statement and trying to assess whether she intended to incite religious feelings, said Prayagraj Senior Superintendent of Police Ajay Kumar.
Meanwhile, the school’s secretary Suchitra Verma alleged that the complaint was part of a conspiracy by some employees at a nearby school “who are jealous of the excellent work done by the principal”, The Indian Express reported.
Verma said that the school carries out similar activities for Diwali and Dussehra when students are asked to dress up as Lord Ram and Hanuman.
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