Mumbai, Oct 31 (Mumbai Mirror): Controversial preacher Zakir Naik is likely to return to Mumbai to pay his respects to his deceased father.

Naik, who extended his stay abroad after running into controversy following allegations that some of those involved in the July terror attack in Dhaka drew inspiration from his speeches, missed his father’s funeral on Sunday.

Naik’s father, Abdul Karim Naik, a physician and educationist, passed away after suffering a cardiac arrest in the early hours of Sunday morning. He was 87.

An associate of Naik said he is likely to visit Mumbai soon to pay his respects to his father. When asked about Naik skipping the funeral, his aide said, “He wasn’t able to attend. It was too short a time. He will soon be here to pay respects to his father.”

The associate said that Naik’s father, who had been keeping unwell for some time, suffered a cardiac arrest at his Mazgaon home at 3:30 am and passed away soon after. “He was laid to rest at a graveyard in that area,” the associate said.

Born in Ratnagiri in coastal Maharashtra, Abdul Naik, a doctor, served as the president of the Bombay Psychiatric Society, a private organisation of mental health professionals, in 1994-95. He had also been active in the field of education.

Zakir Naik’s Islamic Research Foundation (IRF), too, is under the radar of security agencies and will be soon banned under the antiterror law.

According to a source in the Union Home Ministry, the IRF will be declared an ‘unlawful association’ under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act after investigations by the Home Ministry found it to be allegedly having dubious links with Peace TV, an international Islamic channel accused of propagating terrorism.

Naik has already been booked under section 153 (A) and 295 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) by Mumbai Police in a couple of cases, where he is accused of hurting the sentiments of Hindu community. Naik has refuted the allegations levelled against him in a video he released following the Dhaka terror attack.