Inputs by Sayantanee Choudhury from Patna)

KALYAN: Mumbai-based preacher Dr Zakir Naik , who is under the scanner after two of the Dhaka terrorists claimed he was an inspiration, seemed to have been followed by four youths from here who had run away to join the Islamic State.Areeb Majeed, one of the Protesters supporting Zakir Naik clash with police in Srinagar four who returned last year and was arrested for links with IS, is believed to have told interrogators of the National Investigation Agency that he was inspired to delve deeper into Islam after hearing the lectures of Naik.Copies of Naik's lectures were also found in a Darbhanga library frequented by Indian Mujahideen members. The Centre and the state are studying preacher Zakir Naik's lectures and videos after Bangladesh said his sermons, which draw wide audiences on TV and online across the world, inspired two of the seven young terrorists who slaughtered 20 hostages on Friday night in a posh Dhaka cafe.Sleuths from Darbhanga in Bihar where a module of the Indian Mujahideen was busted in 2010-11 claimed that many hard copies of Naik's lectures were found in a library that was frequented by the members of the terror module, including founder-member Yasin Bhatkal.Like the Dhaka terrorists, the youths from Kalyan — Areeb Majeed, Fahad Shaikh and Amaan Tandel who joined IS — are from well-to-do families and were studying engineering. Only Saheem Tanki, who went with them, had failed HSC.TOI has learnt that Majeed told the NIA he became very religious after hearing Naik, known as an expert on comparative religion. As he began trying to read more about puritanical Islam, around January 2014, he learnt about the IS and their drive to establish a caliphate in Iraq and Syria. Soon, he was bombarded on Facebook and other social media and spoke to people in Turkey, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the US, who began indoctrinating him.In Darbhanga, a number of books, speeches, and photographs of Naik were recovered from the Dar-ul-Qitab-Sunna library near Al-Hira Public School in the Karimganj area. Yasin Bhatkal, who was arrested by NIA from Raxaul in 2012, used to frequent the library during his stay in Darbhanga, mostly during 2010-11. “During the visit, he confessed other IM members like Kafeel Akhtar alias Chota Kafeel and Tahseen alias Monu used to visit the library, said a security official.“They used to provoke religious feelings for anti-national activities and indoctrinated many youth citing atrocities like Babri Masjid and the Gujarat riots. The library was stuffed with books and hard copies of Zakir's speeches,“ he added.Naik had addressed a public meeting in minority-dominated Kisanganj in 2012. “There was no ban on Zakir Naik... His rallies used to witness huge footfall in Bihar,“ the official said.Brain-washed, Majeed started reading about IS on social media and finally got in touch with a woman, Tahirah Bhatt, who told him how to join the banned group. Majeed contacted Shaikh, Tanki and Tandel and left for Iraq in May last year. Presently, Majeed is in jail, Tanki is said to have died fighting, and Shaikh had contacted his family a few months ago. There has been no news of Tandel.