This followed Naik’s letter to the international police agency last month, saying that he did not support Islamic jihad and that he was being persecuted simply because he was a Muslim.
However, the NIA in a response to the letter told Interpol that Naik had radicalised Muslim youth through his inflammatory speeches and spread hatred among different religions, the Times of India reported today.
The agency added that evidence of Naik’s involvement in acts that violate Indian law are “very strong”, the report said.
“Having radicalised Muslim youth for years through his speeches, Naik has not presented himself before us despite several summons/warrants and his passport has been revoked by the Regional Passport Office in Mumbai,” the NIA was quoted as saying.
It said Naik’s organisation, the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF), was banned by the Indian government for carrying out anti-national activities, and that the ban was upheld by a designated tribunal.
It also reiterated calls for Interpol to issue a red-corner notice against Naik, allowing him to be tracked abroad and extradited to India.
A red-corner notice would make Naik an international fugitive and authorise police in any country to arrest him.
Naik is wanted for questioning in India over money-laundering and terrorism-related crimes. He fled India in 2016, after a suspect in a terror attack on a Dhaka cafe in Bangladesh said he had been influenced by Naik’s speeches, and Bangladesh banned his Peace TV channel.
In his letter to Interpol contesting the NIA’s request for a red-corner notice to be issued against him, Naik said Indian prisons were in poor condition and that he would be subjected to torture if he was sent to an Indian jail.
He also reportedly claimed that his speeches had only promoted peace, and that he had never advocated terror or jihad.
He said he had been delivering speeches on Islam across several countries for the past 25 years, and that he was respected and welcomed in all of them.