Photo of Zakir Naik & Disciple Falsely Linked to Sri Lanka Blasts
A post falsely linked a picture of Zakir Naik with his disciple to the Sri Lanka blasts that took place on 21 April.
CLAIM
A photo of Islamic preacher Zakir Naik and a man has gone viral with claims that he is posing next to a bomber involved in the Easter terror blasts in Sri Lanka.
The photo, tweeted by a user named Chowkidar, The Activist, was circulated with the caption, "#Srilanka’s Suicide bomber with Congress party’s maternal uncle #ZakirNaik"
The post was retweeted over 3,800 times and had over 5,000 likes at the time of writing this story.
Many users on Facebook also shared similar pictures of the two with the same claim.
FACT
The man in the photo has not been reported to be involved in the Sri Lanka blasts.
On further search, The Quint found that the man in the photo is Muhammad Zamri Vinoth Kalimuthu, a known disciple of Naik’s.
Kalimuthu was arrested by Malaysia's Kangar police for allegedly making insulting comments against Hindu gods, Malaysian reports stated.
According to a report by a Malaysian media organisation, Malay Mail, police have received 790 complaints against Vinoth.
Going by the username of ‘Zamri Vinoth', his social media accounts contain several pictures with Zakir Naik.
Naik is absconding and is currently living in Malaysia. He came under the lens of Indian security agenceis after some terrorists, allegedly involved in the attack on a cafe in Dhaka in 2016, reportedly claimed they were inspired by his speeches.
On 17 November 2016, India declared Naik's Mumbai-based NGO Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) an unlawful association under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
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