Radical Islamist preacher Zakir Naik’s speeches inspired most of the 127 people arrested for ISIS links

In a shocking revelation by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday, most of the 127-odd terrorists arrested by security agencies in India for suspected ISIS links were inspired by the speeches of radical Islamic preacher Zakir Naik.

According to reports, National Investigation Agency director YC Modi speaking at a conference of anti-terror teams on Monday said that terrorists and their sympathisers who had joined ISIS were inspired by speeches made by Zakir Naik.

He further outlined the emerging terror challenges before the country at the conference of top police officers. He also highlighted that the Bangladesh-based terror outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) has expanded its footprints in Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra.

NIA also said that there have been 33 cases from Tamil Nadu, 19 from Uttar Pradesh, 17 from Kerala and 14 from Telangana.

https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1183625106209116160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
NIA also said that in three of these ISIS cases from Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the accused have admitted that they were radicalized by Zahran Hashim’s videos. Hashi, as we know, is the mastermind of the Easter day bombings in Sri Lanka.

Read: Hindu woman from Kerala tortured and coerced by Muslim man to join ISIS, appeals to the state police chief for help

Zakir Naik is a fugitive in India, who has escaped and has currently taken shelter in Malaysia. Naik is wanted in India for serious charges related to terrorism after his name cropped in connection with a ghastly terror attack at Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka on July 2016.

Radical Islamist Zakir Naik, a Mumbai-born 53-year-old who is the founder of the controversial ‘Peace TV’ has been living in Malaysia since 2017 after fleeing from India and the previous government there had granted permanent residency to him.

Read: ISIS-linked group planned mass murder by mixing poison in temple prasad, Maharashtra ATS files charge sheet against 10

Recently, the Malaysian government had barred the controversial Islamic preacher from delivering public speeches. The controversial Islamic preacher is also facing an inquiry set up by the government of Mahathir Mohamed after he had provoked by making sensitive remarks on the Hindus and Chinese residing in the Muslim-majority nation.

OpIndia Staff: Staff reporter at OpIndia