The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), issues a summon to the senior manager policy of the Twitter India to personally appear before the Commission on September 4, 2020, after it found Twitter India’s reply in AltNews co-founder Mohammed Zubair’s case, unsatisfactory. Priyank Kanoongo, the chairperson of the commission took to Twitter Today morning to inform that a notice has been issued to Twitter India with regards to the online abuse of a minor girl child by the co-founder of Alt News, Mohammad Zubair.
The reply received in this case was not satisfactory, @NCPCR_ has issued summon to the senior manager policy of the @TwitterIndia for personal appearance in the Commission on 4th September. https://t.co/y9KDrCzoSY
— प्रियंक कानूनगो Priyank Kanoongo (@KanoongoPriyank) August 27, 2020
Child Rights Commission takes cognisance of tweets by Mohd Zubair
On August 8, the Child Rights Commission had taken cognisance of the matter and initiated action against the ‘fact-checking’ website AltNews co-founder Mohammad Zubair, who tweets from his verified handle @zoo_bear. Kanoongo had informed that Twitter India and the concerned law enforcement officials had been informed about the tweet, and they have been asked to take appropriate action.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights had acted on a complaint filed by Forum for Indigenous Rights- North-East India, an organisation working for the rights of people of North East India, against Md Zubair.
“We are deeply anguished about an incident of online harassment and threat followed by stalking of a minor girl by an online stalker Mohammed Zubair bearing the Twitter handle @zoo_bear,” the forum said in the letter, requesting the commission to register a non-bailable warrant against Zubair and asking to file a case against him under POCSO and other relevant laws.
Co-founder of AltNews shares the photo of a minor girl to intimidate the grandfather
On August 7, Zubair indulged in an online spat with a Twitter user Jagdish Singh. The AltNews co-founder targetted a minor girl in his Twitter fight with this social media user. Instead of replying to the user directly, Zubair had brazenly referred to a minor girl seen in the profile picture of the user Jagdish Singh, presumably his granddaughter.
After Zubair had highlighted the minor girl seen in the photo, Islamists had started to issue rape threats to the girl. Zubair’s tweet came under heavy criticism from social media users who accused him of shamelessly using a child to get back at a critic.
When one Twitter user had tagged National Commission for Women to raise an alarm about the predatory behaviour by Zubair, the co-founder of AltNews brazened it out justifying his blatant doxxing that was clearly endangering the life of a minor.
