Mohammad Zubair, the founder of fact-checking website Alt News, was arrested by Delhi Police on Monday. The 40-year-old had allegedly hurt religious sentiments through a social media post, according to officials.
KPS Malhotra, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Cyber Cell), said that a case was registered against Zubair earlier this month too. The case was registered under sections 153A and 295A of the Indian Penal Code.
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The Alt News co-founder was arrested in connection with one of his recent tweets that had a questionable image with the purpose of deliberately insulting the god of a particular religion, the DCP said, according to news agency PTI.
Law enforcement officials clarified that Zubair was arrested after a Twitter user filed a complaint against him, saying that their religious sentiments have been hurt.
Hours after being arrested in Delhi, Zubair was produced before a magistrate on Monday. He was sent into police custody for a day, PTI reported.
Pratik Sinha, the co-founder of Alt News, said that Zubair was arrested in a case for which no notice was given by the police, which is mandatory under law for the sections under which he has been held.
Police in a statement said Zubair was “evasive” on their questions and neither provided the “necessary technical equipment” for the purpose of the investigation nor cooperated in the case.
“During investigation, the conduct of Mohammed Zubair was found questionable, which warranted his custodial interrogation to unravel the conspiracy in this matter. Accordingly, he has been arrested,” the police statement read.
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Multiple political figures were quick to protest against Zubair’s arrest on Monday. Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government over Zubair’s arrest.
“Every person exposing BJP’s hate, bigotry and lies is a threat to them. Arresting one voice of truth will only give rise to a thousand more”, Rahul Gandhi wrote.
