On Monday (July 4), the Delhi police brought Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair to Sitapur in connection with a case registered against him in Uttar Pradesh. The case pertains to the derogatory comments made by Zubair against three Hindu saints in May this year.
In a video shared by news agency ANI, Zubair was seen following the lead of the Delhi Police in Sitapur, where a case was registered against him for inflaming religious sentiments with his comments on the Hindu saints.
#WATCH | UP: Delhi Police bring Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair to Sitapur in connection with a case registered against him here for allegedly inflaming religious sentiments through his tweet on Mahant Bajrang Muni, Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati and Swami Anand Swaroop. pic.twitter.com/UyVfrcpsHD
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) July 4, 2022
The Background of the Controversy
In a tweet on May 27, Mohammed Zubair took a swipe at Times Now anchor Navika Kumar and labelled Yati Narasinghanand Saraswati, Mahant Bajrang Muni and Anand Swaroop as hate mongers.
His tweet read, “Why do we need Hate Mongers like Yati Narasinghanand Saraswati or Mahant Bajrang Muni or Anand Swaroop to arrange a Dharam Sansad to speak against a community and a Religion when we already have Anchors who can do a much better job from News Studios.”
Five days later, the Khairabad Police in the Sitapur district of Uttar Pradesh filed a First Investigation Report (FIR) against Zubair for using derogatory language against the trio.
The FIR was registered based on the complaint of Bhagwan Sharan, district head of Rashtriya Hindu Sher Sena, under sections 295(A) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
In his complaint, Sharan said, “On May 27, Mohammed Zubair used derogatory remarks against Mahant Bajrang Muni Udasin Ji by using the term ‘Hate Mongers’ for him from his Twitter handle. He also abused Yati Narsinghanand and Swami Anand Swaroop.”
He further clarified there was no enmity of Mahant Bajrang Muni Udasin with Mohammed Zubair. “He (Zubair) did it to intentionally spread hatred in the society and hurt religious sentiments of Hindus under a well thought out conspiracy,” Sharan emphasised.
Mohammed Zubair is currently under judicial custody in Delhi facing charges related to hurting religious sentiments with his tweet, he is also under investigation for tampering with the evidence and FCRA violations.
