Delhi: Nine teams from the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and other agencies are scanning controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik’s activities.
Media reports on Sunday quoted sources from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) as saying that four teams had been constituted to scan the video footages and CDs of Naik’s speeches and three teams are scanning social sites, while two teams are monitoring his Facebook posts.
Also, as per initial investigation, it has reportedly been found that Naik’s speeches and writings have been found to be provocative, objectionable and so is his writing.
At the same time, Naik's NGO’s operations have also been branded as suspicious, reports said.
It has also been found that the funds sent for his 'charitable activities' are being misused and the MHA is also examining his Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) funding clearance and irregularities.
Besides his phone calls and emails, sponsors for his foreign trips and meetings are also under the NIA's scanner. Sources further state that Naik may be banned soon and the Centre has sought fresh legal opinion on the matter, as per ANI.
Meanwhile, on July 07, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had said that he had asked the Mumbai Police Commissioner to conduct a probe (into Naik's speeches) and submit a report.
On the other hand, Naik had released a statement on July 08, saying that he 'totally disagreed' that he inspired the act of killing innocent people in Dhaka.
"There is not a single talk of mine where I encouraged one to kill another, whether Muslim or non-Muslim," he had said.
Naik's speeches are believed to have inspired some of the Bangladeshi militants, who killed 22 people, mostly foreigners, at an upscale restaurant (Holey Artisan Bakery) in Dhaka last Friday.
Naik's 'hate speech' is reported to have inspired at least one of the five Bangladeshi militants involved in the Dhaka carnage.
One of the Bangladeshi attackers, suspected to be Rohan Imtiaz - the son of a politician of Bangladesh's ruling Awami League - ran a propaganda on Facebook last year quoting 50-year-old Naik, Bangladeshi newspaper Daily Star reported.
Naik, founder of Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation, in his lecture aired on Peace TV, an international Islamic channel, had reportedly "urged all Muslims to be terrorists".
He is banned in the UK and Canada for his 'hate speech' aimed at other religions. He is among 16 banned Islamic scholars in Malaysia.
(With Agency inputs)
