New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday issued a second notice to internationally acclaimed thinker and orator Dr Zakir Naik asking him to appear before it on March 30 in a case filed against him under a controversial anti-terror law.
The NIA had earlier this month issued the first summons to him asking him to appear on March 14. Officials said Naik has been summoned at the NIA’s headquarters here.
The notice has been sent to the Mumbai residence of 51-year-old NRI Dr Naik, who is believed to be staying in Saudi Arabia to amidst fears of ‘unfair treatment and false cases’.
Last week the Delhi High Court had dismissed the petition of Dr Naik’s NGO Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) against the immediate ban and freezing of bank accounts. IRF was banned by the government for five years in November last year. The ban on IRF was enforced under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and approved at a meeting of the Union Cabinet.
Zakir Naik has repeatedly condemned all acts of terrorism in his public speeches. However, Home Ministry claims that Zakir Naik made many provocative speeches and had engaged in terror propaganda.
The Maharashtra Police have also registered criminal cases against Zakir Naik accusing him of involving in radicalisation of youths and luring them into terror activities.
He came under the scanner of the security agencies after Bangladeshi newspaper ‘Daily Star’ reported that one of the perpetrators of the July 1,2016 terror attack in Dhaka, Rohan Imtiaz, ran propaganda on Facebook in 2015 quoting Naik. However the newspaper had taken down the report later.
Last month, The Enforcement Directorate (ED) issued summons to Zakir Naik and the IRF under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Zakir Naik, in a 2,000-word open letter, urged the Modi government to be “fair” in its investigation and be “truthful with facts”.
(Agencies)
