04 August,2016 09:23 AM IST | | Hemal Ashar
Dr Zakir Naik's lawyer Mubin Solkar insists that the controversial Islamic preacher has no reason to fear arrest, as the terror allegations against him are baseless and no case has been filed yet
Even as Dr Zakir Naik is being probed over allegations that he may have inspired the terrorists who carried out the terror attack in Dhaka, reports claimed that the controversial Mumbai televangelist fled to Saudi Arabia to avoid being arrested.
Several outfits had launched protests against Dr Zakir Naik when his name cropped up in the Dhaka terror attacks. File pic
However, his lawyer Mubin Solkar insists that Naik is in Africa for a lecture series and has no reason to fear arrest, as the allegations are baseless.
Dr Zakir Naik addressed the media through Skype in July, after the government launched a probe against him. He is currently in Gambia, Africa. Pic/Datta Kumbhar
Excerpts from an interview:
Q. You are representing Zakir Naik in which matter precisely?
A. I have known him for more than 20 years and am his lawyer and legal adviser. He consults me in all legal matters. I represent him in many cases and have done so previously too.
Q. There have been reports that he fled to Saudi Arabia post the Dhaka attacks. Why did he go there?
A. He never ran away. He was in Saudi Arabia when the attacks occurred. His family was with him in Saudi, where they have been going every Ramzan for the past 15 years.
Q. Where is he, currently?
A. He was in Saudi Arabia, but now he is in Africa. Gambia, to be precise.
Q. What is he doing there?
A. He is in Gambia as part of his lecture tours.
Q. Why is he not returning to India; does he fear arrest?
A. He is a Non Resident Indian (NRI) and has been living outside India most of the time since several years. He spends a lot of time in Dubai, to be exact. No case has been registered against him since the present controversy started, so there is no question of fearing arrest. He was to return to India for 1.5 days in the middle, to speak to the media. But then the state and central governments ordered a probe, so he answered media queries by Skype, from Saudi - maybe Mecca or Medinah, I do not know precisely.
Q. What legal recourse are you pursuing right now?
A. I am being consulted for legal advice against the media trial and allegations about Dr Zakir Naik, which are baseless. Some sections of the media have dubbed him Dr Terror, and have defamed him. We have sent a legal notice to a news channel, and are in the process of framing notices against others.
