The Maharashtra government has asked Mumbai police to conduct a probe into controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik's speeches amid reports that his sermons inspired one of the terrorists involved in the attack on a restaurant in Dhaka.
The Enforcement Directorate has registered a criminal case against controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik and his organisation IRF under money laundering laws.
Official sources said all the banks, where Naik's and his organisation's accounts were in operation, have been asked to immediately freeze those till further directions.
Police have been deployed outside the Mumbai office of a foundation run by controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, whose 'hate speech' is reported to have inspired one of the five Bangladeshi militants involved in the recent Dhaka carnage.
Naik, the founder of proscribed Islamic Research Foundation, has been asked to appear before the anti-terror agency at its headquarters in Delhi on March 14
The decision has been taken after a preliminary inquiry conducted by the home ministry found that the NGO was carrying out activities contrary to the Foreign Contribution Regulations Act under which it has to function.
IRF will be declared an 'unlawful association' under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act after investigations by the home ministry found it to be allegedly having dubious links with Peace TV, an international Islamic channel accused of propagating terrorism, an official source said.
Digvijaya Singh said if Zakir Naik is guilty of delivering inflammatory sermons then why no action was taken against individuals like Sakshi Maharaj, Yogi Adityanath, Sadhvi Prachi.
The Cabinet approved a proposal to declare Islamic Research Foundation as an 'unlawful association' under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act for five years, a home ministry official said.
5 joint secretaries serving in the ministry of home affairs on Tuesday met Home Minister Rajnath Singh and urged him to reconsider the decision to suspend senior IAS officer G K Dwivedi for renewal of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act licence of controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik's NGO.
Groups of youth took to the streets at Press Colony and Khanyar in support of Naik.
I&B Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said the channel, run by Naik's Islamic Research Foundation, was denied the rights for "not fulfilling due conditions".
'It is time someone told BJP leaders that they were not elected to remind people of Congress corruption. The people of India voted for Narendra Modi and the BJP because they believed that he and his party were clean, unlike the Congress-led government,' says Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
The IRF, in its plea, has challenged the November 17, 2016, notification of the ministry of home affairs which had imposed an immediate ban on the organisation under UAPA.
Here is what we know about this extremely controversial figure
The NIA has questioned around 20 associates of Naik, including his sister Nailah Naushad Noorani, in connection with its investigation, they said.
Holding that Naik's foundation's plea challenging the Centre's decision has "no merit", the court said the order of the government was "not arbitrary and illegal".
Abu Anas was arrested by the NIA in January for allegedly planning to carry out a terror strike ahead of Republic Day.
The IRF was banned for five years by the government last year under the UAPA for its alleged terror activities.
IRF spokesperson said Qureshi is a "Guest Relations Officer" with the organisation, but denied any "encouragement" on part of their staff to make anyone join terrorist organisation, ISIS
The action by the NIA came barely a few days after the Union Cabinet declared IRF as a banned organisation under UAPA.
Mahathir said his govt would always ensure it looked into all factors.
At that particular time, Naik was largely considered a non-controversial figure.
The ED identified the properties as Fatima Heights and Aafiyah Heights in Mumbai, an unnamed project in the Bhandup area of Maharashtra's capital city and a project named Engracia in Pune.
MEA sources said that they have not received any communication from the Malaysian government regarding the deportation of Naik to India.
Islamic Research Foundation Educational Trust, promoted by controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, has been put under prior permission category, thus preventing it from receiving foreign funds without getting nod from the central government.
The government on Tuesday remained non-committal on taking action against a controversial Indian Islamic preacher, who was followed by one of the five Bangladeshi militants, who killed 22 people at a restaurant in Dhaka.
Rijiju said India has good relations and mutual understanding with Bangladesh, especially in the matter of co-operation on fighting terrorism.
The NIA has asked him to him to appear before it on March 30 in a case filed against him under an anti-terror law.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf on the futility of the 'who is a Hindu?' debate.
In an open letter, Naik, 51, who is abroad, said he will pursue all legal options to get the ban repealed and that the judiciary will fail the Modi government in its 'plans'.
The NGO had given donations to an allied entity of RGF in 2011 which engages in promoting girl education and providing money to needy for meeting hospital expenses.
In a four-page 'open letter' released in Mumbai, Naik posed five questions to the government.
'The NIA has shared with states concerned a list of 125 suspected activists who have close links with the JMB leadership'
Naik's detractors -- those with 'a mob mentality' -- should debate him rather than asking him to be deported to India, PPBM strategist Rais Hussin said.
The Supreme Court of India denied bail to a man accused of being associated with ISIS, citing concerns about a potential 'ring of terror' plot. The decision came after the accused challenged a lower court's denial of bail in a case involving charges under UAPA and IPC.
The controversial Islamic preacher also said that his remarks were being blown out of context and that he is a messenger of peace.
Radical Islamist networks are deliberately targeting Muslim youths embedded within the country's professional and academic ecosystems, leveraging their skills, mobility, and digital reach to quietly strengthen operational capabilities. This trend highlights a dangerous evolution in terror recruitment -- one that exploits ideological faultlines, online echo chambers and transnational radical Islamist influences to attract individuals who outwardly embody India's modern and aspirational narrative, points out Dr Kanchan Lakshman.
The Delhi police Special Cell has busted a terror module with links to Pakistan and arrested five suspected operatives after raids across multiple states, an official said on Thursday.
'Dr Zakir Naik is a busy person and as an NRI he is out of India six months of the year.'
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