Mon 28 September 2020:
Three failed attempt by the Indian government in convincing the Interpol of criminal charges against Dr. Naik
The Indian government is going to further tighten restriction around Islamic scholar Zakir Naik.
Reports on Thursday said that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is mulling to impose a ban on Dr. Zakir Naik’s Peace TV channel, mobile App and its YouTube channel for allegedly spreading hatred and inciting religious sentiments through its network.
As per the report submitted by Intelligence Bureau (IB) to the Home Ministry.
The report said that Dr. Zakir Naik’s organisation has links with Jihadi groups and that it receives funding from Arab countries for furthering the Jihadi propaganda in India.
Top officials of the IB and the NIA held a meeting at the Home Ministry office in Delhi in which it was discussed whether hate speech videos posted by Naik posed threat to communal harmony in the country.
A fine of Rs 2.75 crore was imposed on Dr. Zakir Naik’s channels Peace TV and Peace TV Urdu in the UK by UK media watchdog Ofcom for broadcasting hate speech and repeatedly inciting violence through his channels. Dr. Zakir Naik is wanted in India for money laundering and inciting extremism through hate speeches. His name is included in the NIA’s most-wanted list.
Last year, Dr. Zakir Naik had launched a mobile application called the free Peace TV App that had over 1 lakh downloads on Google Play Store. The app has round the clock telecast in four languages, English, Urdu, Bangla and Chinese. Through this app, Naik’s TV channel is broadcast across India. His app is also banned in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
Interpol refused Red Corner Notice
Three failed attempt by the Indian government in convincing the Interpol of criminal charges against Naik. The first attempt was back in mid-2017. It is understood that the Indian government had multiple meetings and presentations with the Interpol team in New Delhi in the last twelve months, said a statement issued by Naik.
The international police organisation has also instructed all its offices to delete all data on Naik from its files.
In a letter addressed to Zakir Naik, the Interpol’s commission secretariat stated that “after a thorough examination of the elements before it, the commission found that the data (read “charges”) raised questions as to compliance with applicable rules”. The statement implies that the charges and allegations against Naik were unsubstantiated and vague, and the Indian authorities had failed to follow the due process of Interpol’s rules of charges and proof submission.
The TV personality, who is based in Malaysia, has been excluded from travel to the UK, India and Bangladesh and is accused by the Indian government of laundering £23m (Dh109.3m).
Ex-Malaysia PM Mahathir Mohamad had refused to deport the preacher despite requests from India, expressing concern about whether he will receive a fair trial.
