The Hindustan Times reported the group, called Hussaini Tiger, has promised the cash reward, as well as a reward in the afterlife, to whoever can kill Zakir.

The group’s president, Syed Kalbe Hussain Naqvi, in making the announcement on his Facebook page on Tuesday, called Zakir a “khalnayak” (Hindi for villain) and a “kafir” for insulting “the Prophet of Muslims”.

Hussain is the son of the senior vice-president of the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board and prominent ulama Syed Kalbe Sadiq.

As expected, the threat did not sit well with the police, who said it amounted to criminal intimidation.

Deputy Inspector-General of Police (Lucknow) RKS Rathore said a person issuing such a threat could be arrested for spreading hatred and disturbing communal harmony.

Naik is under the radar, both in India and Bangladesh, after two militants in the recent Dhaka attack, in which 20 people  were savagely killed, reportedly said they were influenced by his preaching.