Zakir Naik's aides Arshi Qureshi and Rizwan Khan booked by Mumbai Police for radicalisation

Mumbai: The Mumbai Police has filed a case against two suspected Islamic State sympathisers Arshid Qureshi and Rizwan Khan -- alleged to be close to controversial preacher Zakir Naik of the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF).

The duo were picked up in Mumbai last month in a joint operation by the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) and the Kerala Police.

Also, the Mumbai Police on Monday submitted a report to the Maharashtra government on Naik's speeches amid reports that his sermons inspired one of the terrorists involved in the attack on a restaurant in Dhaka.

Qureshi and Khan were arrested after a police complaint was raised by Ebin Abraham, brother of Kochi resident, Merin alias Mariyam, who along with her husband, is reported to be missing and is alleged to have joined the Islamic State.

The two have not admitted that they had forcibly converted Merin. They have also denied any knowledge of about 19 other youths including women and children who have mysteriously disappeared from Kerala.

However, both the men have been booked by the Mumbai Police for forceful conversion and radicalisation, reported The Indian Express. At present, they are currently under the Kerala police custody.

 

“We have registered a case under Section 13 and 38 of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act read with Section 120 (B) of IPC against four people, including Qureshi and Khan,” The Indian Express quoted Joint Commissioner of Police ( Crime) Sanjay Saxena as saying. Names of the other two people booked haven’t been disclosed as yet.

As per Hindustan Times, the case was filed after Mumbai Central resident Abdul Majid Abdul Kader lodged a complaint against Qureshi and Khan, alleging that his son Ashfaque, one of the 21 youths went missing in Kerala, was radicalised by the two men.

 

The case has reportedly been transferred to Mumbai Crime Branch. “If Naik’s name surfaces, he will also be questioned,” The Indian Express quoted a source as saying.

Reports had earlier said that Qureshi has claimed that 700 persons from Kerala had been converted to Islam.