I&B ministry officials said Naik’s TV channels including in Bangla and Urdu – which are beamed in Bangladesh are “banned” in India but shown by some cable TV operators.
Advertisement
Media reports after the cafe attack in Dhaka say one of the five slain terrorists, who holed up overnight at Holey Artisan Bakery on July 1 and killed 20 civilians, was a follower of Naik on Facebook.
Officials said according to an intelligence report the content of the “Peace TV”, in which Naik regularly appears and gives sermons, is “not conducive” to the security environment in the country and poses “security hazard”.
In the meeting, attended by senior ministers and top security officials, it was also made a decision to monitor the sermons given during the Friday prayers to check whether any provocative lectures are delivered, Amu told reporters.
It said that cable TV rules specifies that no cable operator shall carry or include in his cable service any television broadcast or channel which has not been registered by the central government for being viewed within the territory of India.
“A special team, which comprises cyber cell experts, has been formed to probe Naik’s speeches”.
Khan said the investigators were also probing Naik’s financial transactions in Bangladesh.
The gruesome attack claimed the lives of 22 people, including 18 foreigners and two policemen, during the 12-hour siege which the security forces ended with a successful rescue operation codenamed as “Operation Thunderbolt”.
Dr Naik, whose speeches are aired on “Peace TV” run by his Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation, is a controversial Islamic preacher and his preachings were reported to have inspired some of the Dhaka attackers.
Advertisement
Home Minister Rajnath Singh had said on Friday that CDs of his speeches were being examined while asserting that the government will not compromise on the issue of terrorism. “There is not a single speech of mine where I have encouraged people to kill one another, whether Muslim or non-Muslim”, he said.
