AltNews co-founder and alleged fact-checker Mohammed Zubair was recently interrogated by the Delhi Police in connection with a case of online harassment and doxing a minor girl child on Twitter.
According to Delhi Police sources, the Delhi Police summoned the alleged fact-checker Mohammed Zubair on May 13 to interrogate him in the case registered against him for harassment case. The Delhi Police questioned Zubair based on a complaint filed by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) in connection with the matter.
On August 7, Mohammed Zubair indulged in an online spat with Twitter user Jagdish Singh. The AltNews co-founder targeted 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 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 the 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.
The Child Rights Commission had taken cognisance of the matter and initiated action against the ‘fact-checking’ website AltNews co-founder Mohammed Zubair, who tweets from his verified handle @zoo_bear. NCPCR chief Priyank Kanoongo had also informed Twitter India and the concerned law enforcement officials about the tweet and had asked to take appropriate action.
Subsequently, two FIRs were registered against Mohammed Zubair for online harassment of a girl child while arguing with a Twitter user. In the first FIR filed by Delhi Police, the stringent POCSO Act was not added. However, in the second FIR filed against Zubair in Chhattisgarh, along with the relevant sections of the IPC and IT Act, POCSO Act was also invoked.
However, the Chhattisgarh High Court had granted interim protection to Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair while hearing his plea to quash the FIR filed against him under IPC Section 509B, IT Act section 67 and POCSO Act.
