Islamic preacher Zakir Naik stays away from India, opts for video conference

Controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, who was scheduled to land in Mumbai on July 11, has cancelled his return and is likely to submit his clarification via video conference on July 12. He is currently in Saudi Arabia.

Mumbai Police on Friday formed a special investigation team to probe Zakir Naik's controversial speeches.

"A special team, which comprises cyber cell experts, has been formed to probe Naik's speeches. Police will examine his speeches on Youtube and also scrutinise the CDs, books and other documents at his office here," a senior Mumbai police official said.

Earlier, the Home Minister Rajnath Singh also claimed that CDs of Zakir's speeches are being examined for necessary action and asserted that the government will not compromise on the issue of terrorism.

Naik, however, had released a statement, saying he "totally disagreed" that he inspired the act of killing innocent people in Dhaka. "There is not a single talk of mine where I encouraged one to kill another, whether Muslim or non-Muslim," he said.

Zakir's speeches are believed to have inspired some militants involved in Dhaka killing.