New Delhi – Delhi Minorities Commission sent a legal notice to the Editor of The Pioneer for referring Dr. Zakir Naik as “Salafist Terror Preacher” while reporting a news about Enforcement Directorate seizing some of his properties.
The Pioneer published a news based on a PTI report on 20 January that alleges Dr. Zakir Naik in a money-laundering case, but the news-agency deliberately misused the freedom of press and referred to him as a “terror preacher” while Interpol deleted the data accusing him of terror-mongering.
Sou Motu cognizance was taken into consideration by Delhi Minorities Commission, and called it—“this is a gross misuse of media freedoms to defame a person who is still an accused and no court verdict has been passed in the case. The said preacher is at best an accused in a case of money-laundering and not terror funding or preaching.”
The Commision demanded the Pioneer to justify how it concluded that Dr. Naik is a “Salafist Terror Preacher”.
The notice further stated, “If this a mistake by an overzealous editor of the page, you should print a clarification in a prominent place saying that Dr Zakir Naik is only an accused in a money-laundering case, and supply a copy of the same to this Commission.”
The deadline for the Editor of The Pioneerto respond to the Commission is 11 February 2019.
