Indian fugitive and radical Islamist preacher Zakir Naik is likely to be deported from Oman on Tuesday, according to media reports.
The Indian intelligence agencies are in touch with the Oman authorities to detain Naik during his visit to Oman on March 23, the report said.
Naik, an Indian Islamic preacher, has been residing in Malaysia since 2017. The Oman government recently invited Naik to deliver two religious lectures in the capital city Muscat on March 23 and March 25 during Ramzan.
According to the report, the local Indian embassy is in touch with agencies to detain and eventually deport him to India. India is likely to send a legal team for follow-up after detention, the report said, adding that the matter was taken up with the Omani Ambassador by the MEA.
Naik, 57, fled India in 2016 after his organisation Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) was banned, and a first information report was lodged under his name. He is accused of instigating Muslim youth and terrorists in India and abroad to commit terrorist acts.
In 2019, he was also banned from delivering public speeches in Malaysia. Besides India, his Peace TV network is also banned in Bangladesh, Canada, Sri Lanka, and the UK.
Mohammed Shariq, the main accused in the 2022 Mangaluru auto blast case, had said that he was influenced and radicalised by Naik's videos, which he shared with other co-accused.
Karnataka Police officials seized Shariq's phone, which contained videos of Zakir Naik that he and his handlers shared via Telegram and other platforms such as Signal, Wire, Instagram, and Element.
