Days after the Malaysian government said India had never sought the extradition of Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, who is wanted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday said the request for his custody would be sent soon.
MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar told the media that India’s “internal legal process” was nearing completion and that the request would be made very soon.
Earlier this week, as per media reports, Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had, in a written Parliamentary reply, said that the Indian government had never requested help in the Naik case.
However, he said that action would be taken against Naik if there was any proof of his role in terror-related activities.
The Malaysian government provided permanent resident status to Naik about five years ago, andhas not received a citizenship request from him so far.
The delay on India’s part in completing the legal process for submitting the extradition request is being attributed to the wait for the NIA to file a charge sheet against Naik.
Chargesheet filed
The chargesheet was filed in a Mumbai court about a week ago. According to MEA guidelines, as mentioned in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) website, any extradition request can be initiated after a competent court — having taken cognisance of the charge sheet — issues orders justifying the accused/fugitive’s committal for trial and seeks his presence for the same.