Rajiv Gandhi Trust received Rs 50 lakh donation from Naik’s IRF

New Delhi: Amid the controversies shrouding Islamic preacher Dr Zakir Naik, the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF) has emerged as a lighting rod for receiving a donation of Rs 50 lakh from the televangelist’s Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) Islamic Research Foundation (IRF).

According to the Union Home Ministry officials, Naiks’s NGO had donated the huge sum of money to an RGF’s allied entity called Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust (RGCT) in 2011 for promoting girl education and providing medical help to needy people. The money was, however, returned in July 2016 in the wake of the Dhaka cafe terror attack.

It may be mentioned that RGCT is a registered non-profit organization which aims at fulfilling the development needs of the country’s unprivileged, especially in rural areas. The organization was established in 2002.

Other highlights:

• IRF spokesman Aarif Malik confirmed the money had been given to RGCT.
• “The money was given back in July this year for reasons best know to RGCT. I’m still clueless about the return as it was something unprecedented and unexpected,” said Malik.
• Dr Naik is popular in Bangladesh through his television channel ‘Peace TV’ which has been banned in the country after the Dhaka terror attack.

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