Ekip
26 October 2017•Update: 28 October 2017
By Shuriah Niazi
NEW DELHI, India
India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday filed a chargesheet against popular Muslim preacher Zakir Naik, who is wanted by Indian authorities for his alleged role in inciting terror and delivering hate speeches.
Zakir Naik has been booked by the NIA for waging war against the nation, for deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings and for Utterances (speeches) with deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings of any person.
Naik was also booked under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for being a member of an unlawful association.
The chargesheet filed by the NIA at their special court has statements from 85 witnesses.
The External Affairs Ministry had revoked the passport of Zakir Naik in July.
Naik is well known in various countries for his expertise in debating on Islamic issues. He has millions of followers on Facebook and has delivered close to 4,000 lectures on Islam in many countries.
His programs on Peace TV, which he founded in 2006, was very popular among Indian Muslims; the channel was banned by the government last year.
After the terror attack in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka last year, the federal agency had filed a case against the preacher and his Mumbai-based nongovernmental organization, the Islamic Research Foundation.
Problems for Naik began in India after authorities in Bangladesh said one of the gunmen responsible for the deadly attack at a popular Dhaka cafe had allegedly been inspired by the preacher. The attack had left 22 people dead, mostly foreign nationals.
Naik was not in India at the time the alleged link to him was established and has since then not returned to the country to evade possible arrest on various charges.
Last year, the Indian government had canceled the license of his NGO and educational trust, and declared it a terror outfit.
The National Investigation Agency registered a criminal case against Naik on Nov. 18, 2016, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
