Zakir Naik accused in ‘love jihad’ case involving top Bangladeshi politician

The Indian National Investigation Agency (NIA) has named Islamic preacher Zakir Naik and two hardline preachers of Pakistan origin as accused in an FIR pertaining to a high-profile "love jihad" case, reports The Times of India citing IANS. 

The high-profile case involves the daughter of a Chennai-based businessman and the son of a top Bangladesh politician, belonging to former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

The NIA is probing the Indian businessman's daughter and Bangladesh politician son's marriage in London. Zakir Naik, who is wanted by Indian enforcement agencies, and the hardline preachers of Pakistani-origin based in the US have been named as accused in the case, according to information accessed by IANS.

The girl's father had initially lodged a complaint with the Chennai Central Crime Branch in May, alleging his daughter who was studying in London was radicalised and was forced to covert to Islam.

He had also alleged that his daughter was abducted from London and taken to Bangladesh by some Bangladeshis.

"The matter involved investigation in foreign countries. And hence the case was transferred to National Investigation Agency (NIA)," Chennai Police Commissioner Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal told IANS. He said it is not possible to share further details on the case.

The persons named in the NIA's FIR are Zakir Naik, as well as Yasir Qadhi and Nauman Ali Khan, both US-based Islamic preachers.

Qadhi had put a video of Naik where he was seen making sensational claims on safe passage from India when he was being pursued by Indian enforcement agencies.

The prime accused is Nafees, son of Shakhawat Hossain Bakul, a BNP leader and former Member of Parliament. Bakul was elected to parliament from Narsingdi-4 as a BNP candidate in 1991 and 2001.

Bakul had been arrested from Khaleda Zia's residence in December 2013 and in June 2017, he was sued by a businessman for extortion.

As per the summary of allegations being investigated by NIA, the Central government had received information from the Tamil Nadu government of regarding the registration of case on May 28, 2020, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, relating to the complaint filed against Nafees, a Bangladeshi citizen, who had allegedly indulged in kidnapping and trafficking of an Indian citizen.

The case revealed the commission of offence specified under the scheduled offences in the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008.