New Delhi, Jun 11: Physician-turned-Islamic preacher Dr Zakir Naik has that agencies under Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led union government of India are "desperately trying to pin fictitious charges" on him and are trying everything possible to put him behind the bars.
Dr Naik also alleged that agencies are targeting him at the behest of their "political bosses".
Yesterday, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said his country has the right not to extradite Naik, for similar reasons that Australia had turned down his country's request to extradite Sirul Azhar Umar in 2015. He added that Naik believes that he would not be accorded justice in India.
"The Indian agencies are desperately trying to pin something on me. Some charges, any charges. Which is why when terror charges did not work with the Interpol, they've moved on to money laundering...." said Naik in a statement.
"As much as I want to hasten up clearing my name from fictitious charges by Indian agencies, they continue an exercise steeped in injustice and unfairness, and are trying everything to put me in jail irrespective of whether I'm guilty or not. The objective of all their actions seems to be to put me behind bars without trial and without hearing. In the process, the Enforcement Directorate continues to waste its time and taxpayers money in bringing about injustice and harassment," he said.
Dr Naik is facing charges of inciting communal disharmony and committing unlawful activities in India. He is also facing probe both in India and Bangladesh in connection with the terror attack at the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka in July 2016. The two suspects in the terror attack had reportedly followed Dr Naik on social media.
In addition, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a prosecution complaint against Dr Naik, who is believed to be in Malaysia, on money laundering charges on December 22, 2016.
A total amount of Rs 193.06 crore has been identified as "proceeds of crime." The directorate has also attached properties of Naik worth Rs 50.46 crore.
"Why are the Indian agencies getting so desperate? Desperate to comply with the instructions of their political bosses? It surely cannot be desperation to serve justice because they're not sure of the charges themselves. But this desperation is shameful, and it shows in the way they keep shifting focus from one angle to another, from terror to money laundering, just to make something stick on me," Dr Naik said in the statement.
"...The recent history of India is replete with cases of Muslims arrested and put in jail for 8, 10, 15, even 20 years before being declared innocent by the courts. Knowing this record of Indian agencies, I would not like to take a chance of ruining my life and my unfinished work," he added.
He, however, said that if the Supreme Court of India gives him in writing that he will not be arrested and jailed until he is convicted, he is ready to return.
According to the ED, money laundering was conducted via "dubious" origins from the UAE to facilitate production and broadcasting incriminating videos for spreading communal hatred and radicalisation of a particular community.
The kidnapped schoolboy was rescued by the police and reunited with his parents. Son of a gift shop owner from Basavanagudi area in Bengaluru, Chirag has reportedly told police that decided to make some quick money to spend on cricket betting and gambling after learning kidnap tricks from the ‘Crime Patrol’. According to police, Chirag reached a private school around 3pm on Tuesday on a Bounce rental bike and zeroed in on a fourth standard student who was walking out of school. He told the boy he was his father's friend and that he required help to search for a relative who had gone missing. The boy believed Chirag and rode pillion on the bike. Chirag then engaged the boy in conversation and learnt about his father's business and got his mobile phone number. He then made a call to the boy's father, demanded Rs 5 lakh and warned him against approaching cops. However, the boy's father alerted Cottonpet police and special teams were formed to crack the case. While Cottonpet inspector Venkatesh TC's squad verified CCTV footage in and around the school, Chamarajpet inspector BG Kumaraswamy's team started tracking the suspect's mobile phone movements. An hour later, the suspect's location was traced to a hotel on the Lavelle Road-St Mark's Road stretch. Police rushed there, rescued the boy and arrested Chirag.
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I am proud to be Indian Prime misister, and I do not tolerate any traitor.
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