New Delhi: The Indian security establishment has expressed concern over wanted Islamic preacher Zakir Naik broadcasting his banned Peace TV channel through mobile applications. The security agencies have also flagged that Naik’s Peace TV stations are available on social media platforms YouTube and Facebook in four languages.
The Islamic televangelist is wanted by India’s federal anti-terror probe body National Investigation Agency (NIA) for preaching hate.
The presence of Naik’s television station’s mobile applications was flagged during a meeting of the security and intelligence establishments last week. Thereafter, the Ministry of Home Affairs has decided to write to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to take appropriate action on the Peace TV mobile applications.
Fugitive Naik runs two television stations — Peace TV and Peace TV Urdu – and they are banned in many countries across the globe for broadcasting hate speech and incitement. It is banned in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Canada and the United Kingdom.
A top government source said that NIA had registered a case against Naik in 2016 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
“The organisation run by him – Islamic Research Foundation – has been proscribed as an Unlawful Association,” said the government source adding that the NIA investigation has proved that Naik and his associates have been promoting enmity and hatred between different religious groups in India through inflammatory public speeches and lectures on various platforms, and inciting Muslim youth and terrorists in India and abroad to commit unlawful activities and terrorist acts.
