On 15th June 2022, Mumbai police refused to file an FIR against Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair for his insulting social media posts against Hindu deities. When the complainant Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha media cell member Deep Ved argued that there are complaints registered against Mohammed Zubair in other parts of the country too, the police officials dodged him by saying if the complaints are already being registered across the country, what is the need to file another FIR in Mumbai.
Deep Ved is a youth living in the Borivali area of Mumbai who works with Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha. He went to the Borivali police station on 15th June 2022 with a 19-page complaint that included 17 pages of the evidence prints of Mohammed Zubair’s social media posts. The posts included Zubair’s derogatory posts referring to Hindu deities and reflected his perverted view as he dog-whistled Islamists to attack former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma.
While speaking to OpIndia, Deep Ved said, “I was observing Mohammed Zubair’s social media handles for quite some time. The Allahabad High Court recently dismissed a writ petition filed by Mohammad Zubair challenging the FIR filed against him on June 1 for using derogatory language against Hindu saints. Considering the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh, I knew very well that the FIR will not be quashed. I was very sure that Mohammed Zubair will take some weird steps after this and accordingly he deleted his Facebook page overnight. Therefore, I collected all the screenshots and links of the things he had posted. I had saved them all well in advance.”
Mumbai police refused to accept FIR against Zoobear today.
— दीप वेद (@DeepVedBjym) June 15, 2022
Me : Sir, pure desh mein FIR ho rahi hai to aap kyun nahi le rahe ho?
Officer : Jab sab jagah ho rahi hai to tumko karne ki kya zaroorat hai.
P.S : Multiple FIR’s were filed against Nikhil & Ketki in few hours. pic.twitter.com/qB2ePT2nbM
Deep Ved added, “Until when are we going to tolerate this? If we see this properly, it is not about me as an individual. Even in the case of Nupur Sharma, it was Mohammed Zubair only who instigated people by posting an edited video. Editing such videos and trimming and cropping them in a suitable manner is a thing he is skilled at. It is his old style and he has done such things even in the past. This time he did it in a way that our country had to face an embarrassing moment on the international level. Nupur Sharma got so many death threats and rape threats. Mohammed Zubair is the only responsible person for that and he is the main culprit.”
About the FIR, Deep Ved said, “I went to file the FIR in individual capacity. I had a 19-page file with me. 17 pages were the prints of the posts from Mohammed Zubair’s social media handles which we had archived. I separately wrote a 2-page complaint letter explaining the whole matter. I approached the police officer named Kalyan Patil in the Borivali Police Station. He looked through the file and asked me why I want to file the FIR. I told him that Mohammed Zubair has committed a crime and Allahabad High Court holds that an FIR can be filed against the things he posted. Mohammed Zubair has deleted his Facebook page after the decision of the Allahabad High Court, which means that he has tampered with the evidence, which is again a separate crime. So it should be filed. Kalyan Patil suggested submitting it on the next day and said that FIR cannot be filed.”
Deep Ved further informed, “When I insisted to file the FIR, Kalyan Patil took me to the Inspector’s cabin where I met Inspector Namdev Jadhav and explained to him the whole case. Even Inspector Jadhav told me that no FIR can be filed against this. I told him that people in other parts of the country are filing cases against him for the things he has done. In response, Inspector Namdev Jadhav asked me why do you want to file an FIR here when there are cases being filed against him in the whole country?”
The Mumbai police alleged Deep Ved of filing the case with a political intention. Deep Ved said, “The police said that you are filing this with a political intention. Why are you doing politics out of this? I replied to them that this is no politics. I have come here to the police station to register an FIR as a responsible Hindu citizen of the country in which I happen to majority. I am not pelting stones to protect my own Dharma in my own country. Nor am I raising slogans that include death threats. I am not executing riots. I am following the legal procedure of filing an FIR. Then the officer told me to come on the next day and that he will inquire. I don’t know what will he inquire when there is no evidence.”
Pointing toward the double standards of the Maharashtra police, Deep Ved said, “It is the same Mumbai police and Maharashtra police who have filed multiple FIRs at different places in the same case based on different complaints by people at respective places. They have done this against a 21-year-old student Nikhil Bhamre and an actress named Ketaki Chitale for posting something which according to the complainants is against Sharad Pawar. Why they are advising me now that there are FIRs being filed at other places in the country. If people in Uttar Pradesh have religious sentiments, so do I. If their sentiments are hurt, similarly Zubair’s posts hurt my sentiments. Nupur Sharma’s case is not his first incident and I have included his old posts as well.”
Deep Ved is also getting threats since he went to file an FIR against Mohammed Zubair. He said, “I am getting threats on my phone and social media. My number is leaked. But I will go and try to file this complaint once again. I will not let Zubair go free from Maharashtra. I will make him come to the Mumbai court at least once, come what may. Zubair has to be behind the bars and I will put my efforts to make sure that he is called by the Mumbai court.”
It is notable that apart from filing multiple FIRs at various police stations against several youths for allegedly defaming Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray and others in Maharashtra ruling coalition, multiple FIRs also have been filed against Nupur Sharma in multiple police stations in the state.
