Sending notice to Zakir Naik's NGO good step by Govt: Ex-Mumbai police chief

Former Mumbai Police Commissioner and now Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Satyapal Singh on Wednesday praised the Centre for sending a notice to controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik's NGO, Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) for cancelling its Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) license.

Singh told ANI, "This decision is good. In 2008, when I was Pune police commissioner, I had reported that Zakir Naik's organization and Zakir Naik himself is indulging in communal work and no organization can receive foreign funding."

"If they are indulging in religious conversion as well as his actions, speeches inspire terrorists to carry out terrorists attacks, I would appreciate and congratulate the Government of India for taking this action," he added.

On Tuesday, Naik's counsel Mubin Solkar said the notice did not contain violations relating to terrorism or any terrorist activity alleged against the preacher.

"There are certain violations which are mentioned in that. We are still studying the notice, will give reply to it within a stipulated period," Solkar told ANI.

"There was no mention of any kind of violations relating to terrorism or any terrorist activity alleged against Naik," he added.

The MHA had issued a show cause notice on Tuesday to Naik's NGO thereby initiating the process for cancellation of its FCRA licence.

MHA sources further state that the process for putting Zakir Naik's educational trust in prior permission category has also been initiated.

The Centre had time and again asserted that Zakir Naik's IRF is maligning India and, therefore, on several occasions advocated for a ban.

Naik came under the scanner after the Bangladeshi newspaper 'Daily Star' revealed that one of the perpetrators of the July 1 terror attack in Dhaka, Rohan Imtiaz, was inspired by Naik.

Naik is banned in both the U.K. and Canada for his alleged hate speeches aimed against other religions.

He is among the 16 banned Islamic scholars in Malaysia. He is also accused of radicalizing and attracting youth for terror acts and has come under the scanner of the security agencies.