Clamping down on foreign funding to televangelist Zakir Naik's twin NGOs, the Union home ministry has issued a showcause notice to the Islamic Research Foundation for cancelling its FCRA licence while deciding to put the IRF Educational Trust under ''prior permission'' category. Putting an NGO under prior permission category means funding to the NGO from foreign sources will require the nod of the ministry of home affairs.
The MHA's foreigner's division oversees the implementation of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) which monitors NGOs in India receiving foreign aid for its activities in the country. Naik has been under scanner of various security agencies for allegedly brainwashing youth to join the Islamic State terror group.
The IRF had earlier been placed in the prior permission category list of the MHA. Once the MHA puts an NGO under prior permission category, it can cancel its registration if it finds that the foreign funding to the NGO is flouting the norms or being used for anti-national activities.
“Once the FCRA registration is cancelled, IRF will not be allowed to receive any foreign funds for its activities in India,” a top official said.
A simultaneous move is on to put the IRF on the list of banned organisations under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). The government's final clamp down on Naik's NGOs has come after investigating agencies like the NIA made a tough case against him alleging that the funds being received by the NGOs were being utilised for radicalisation of youth and inspiring them to carry out terror attacks.
The FCRA probe into Naik's NGOs also showed that a particular amount of Rs 1.5 crore was unaccounted for, and the MHA was not satisfied by the NGO's response as far as the utilisation of the funds was concerned.
Naik came under the spotlight after probe by Bangladesh into the Dhaka terror attack revealed that the terror operatives were inspired by Naik's speeches.
