India

Court extends Md Zubair’s custodial interrogation by 4 days

NEW DELHI — A Delhi court on Tuesday extended by four days the custodial interrogation of Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair in a case related to an “objectionable tweet” he had posted in 2018 against a Hindu deity.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Snigdha Sarvaria passed the order after hearing arguments from Delhi police as well as the accused.

Police had sought an extension of Zubair’s custody by five days.

Fact-checking website Alt News co-founder Mohammad Zubair was arrested by the Delhi Police on Monday for allegedly hurting religious sentiments through one of his tweets, officials said.

Earlier this month, a case against Zubair was registered under sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, language, etc.) and 295A (deliberate and malicious act intended to outrage religious feelings) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), K P S Malhotra, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Cyber Cell), said.

Zubair was arrested in connection with one of his recent tweets that had a questionable image with the purpose to deliberately insulting the god of a particular religion, the DCP said.

Police said the case was registered on the complaint of a Twitter user who accused Zubair of hurting religious sentiments.

Alt News co-founder Pratik Sinha alleged 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. — (PTI)