NIA raids Naik’s offices, homes, prepares to block access to funds

THE FEDERAL AGENCY IS ALSO SET TO ASK NAIK, WHO IS BELIEVED TO BE NOW IN THAILAND, TO JOIN THE PROBE

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: Federal antiterrorism investigators searched 10 offices and homes linked to televangelist Zakir Naik on Saturday, recovering cash and potentially incriminating documents, a day after police charged the preacher with promoting terrorism.

Officers of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) swooped down early in the morning on the headquarters of Naik’s Mumbai-based non-governmental organisation, Islamic Research Foundation (IRF), which was banned this week for five years under a tough anti-terrorism law.

Investigators searched, among other places, Naik and his brother’s homes, the offices of the group’s women’s wing and a media company based out of a squalid south Mumbai neighborhood that Naik used to beam his often-inflammatory speeches in western-style suits.

NIA chief Sharad Kumar told HT that the raids were part of a legal process to restrict IRF and its members from using their funds and property till the courts rule.

“The raids are still going on. It may take another day or two to complete them and prepare an inventory of recoveries,” a senior NIA official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to journalists.

NIA and Mumbai police officers recovered cash worth `13.5 lakh and gold ornaments from an IRF office. An IT expert from Delhi was being called in to inspect servers and communication devices found at Naik’s Peace TV office.

The federal agency is also set to ask Naik, who is believed to be now in Thailand, to join the investigation.

“If he doesn’t join the probe, we will approach the court to declare him a proclaimed offender and move for attaching all his properties,” said the NIA officer.

HT spoke to the Information Technology (IT) head and the CCTV-cum electrical-head of Harmony Media that runs Naik’s channel. They, however, refused to reveal their identities.

“We were asked for details of the editing software and the high-end machines that are used for processing the videos aired outside India. There is, however, no facility of permanent storage of the videos we told NIA. They asked for the details of the 61 CCTV cameras that are present in the Harmony Media office,” one of them said.

Naik’s lawyer Mobin Solkar, said the NIA was yet to provide him an FIR copy.