Delhi: Journalist Mohammad Zubair remanded to 4-day police custody
Mohammad Zubair, journalist and co-founder of Alt News who was arrested by the Delhi Police on the night of June 27 for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus,
Mohammad Zubair, journalist and co-founder of Alt News who was arrested by the Delhi Police on the night of June 27 for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus, has been remanded to a four-day police custody.
He was produced before a Chief Metropolitan Magistrate after the completion of his one-day custody, on Tuesday. HE has been booked under a new case for a tweet that dated back to 2018.
Speaking to ANI, the Intelligence Fusion & Strategic Operations (IFSO), Deputy Commissioner of Police, K P S Malhotra claimed that Zubair was evasive during the interrogation. He dismissed reports that Zubair’s arrest was politically motivated.
“If someone is booked in several cases it’s our right to question him in all. Judiciary is involved, custody is given, bail is not granted, and there must be some substance to the case. Calling it politically motivated doesn’t stand right. We’ll ask for more remand,” he stated.
An FIR was lodged against Zubair on June 20 based on a Twitter ID @balajikijai. Otherwise known as ‘Hanuman Bhakt’. The twitter handle complained that the shared tweet by Zubair (dated 2018) hurt Hindu sentiments.
This was the first-ever tweet by @balajikijai. Before that, there were no tweets from that handle.
The journalist was arrested under sections 153 (giving provocation with intent to cause riot) and 295 (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Soon after his arrest, Pratik Sinha, another co-founder at Alt News tweeted about the incident. He said that no prior notice or an FIR copy was produced and despite repeated requests, Zubair was whisked away by the Delhi Police.
