Islamic preacher Dr. Zakir Naik, whose father passed away at a hospital in Mumbai on Sunday, avoided attending the funeral for fear of getting arrested upon arrival in India.

Naik is currently believed to be in Malaysia.

According to a report by Mateen Hafeez in The Times of India, Naik doesn’t have any new FIR against him but the Centre is taking steps to declare his NGO, Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) as an “unlawful organization” on account of his provocative speeches and the criminal cases filed against him.

Dr. Abdul Kareem suffered a heart attack and was declared dead at 3:30 am on Sunday at Mazgaon’s Prince Aly Khan hospital, where he was admitted a few days ago.

Around 1500 people, including journalists, politicians and businessmen attended his funeral at the Naryalwadi Qabrastan, near Reay Road station.

“Dr Abdul Kareem Naik's life cannot be described in a few words.He was popular among Hindus and Muslims. He was the President of Bombay Psychiatric Society. He worked hard for educational institutions like Anjuman-e-Islam and Anjumane-Khairul Islam. In the last couple of days, he suffered from low blood pressure and organ failure,“ said Manzoor Shaikh, administrative manager of IRF.