NIA raids 12 premises of Islamic Research Foundation; Zakir Naik booked

National Investigation Agency (NIA) teams have seized Rs 12 lakh cash and incriminating documents, files as well as electronic storage devices, in raids on 12 premises including head office of the banned Islamic Research Foundation (IRF).

NIA has registered an offence against IRF founder- president and controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik and his associates for promoting enmity and hatred between religious groups through his public speeches and lectures on various platforms, the agency said in a release.

As per the statement, Naik and his associates are responsible for inciting Muslim youths and terrorists in India and abroad to commit unlawful activities and terrorist acts.

Centre had recently banned IRF for five years and its notification was served through Mumbai Police two days before.

NIA teams raided 12 premises including its head office in Dongri this morning and conducted raids in which they seized documents related to Naik and IRF's various financial transactions and property details.

NIA has sent a team of IT experts from Delhi for further investigation. The searches are still going on and are likely to continue till late in the night, NIA said in a statement.