Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair, who dog-whistled Islamists against Nupur Sharma by sharing an incomplete video of her comments on Prophet Muhammad, filed an FIR with Bengaluru Police alleging that he is receiving death threats.
Zubair lodged a complaint alleging that 16 Twitter accounts disclosed his address on social media and issued death threats to him.
The Alt News co-founder, in his complaint, has alleged that popular Twitter user Ajeet Bharti, known for his deadpan take on political affairs in the country, repeatedly refers to him as Potassium Oxide (K2O) on social media, claiming that it is a religious slur against Muslims alluding to circumcision.
Additionally, he raised a grievance that a Twitter user under the name @cyber_Huntss sent him pork through a pet food website during Ramzan.
@cyber_Huntss posted a tweet on April 9th referencing the dispatch of pork to Zubair and exposing his location, which was subsequently removed from the platform.
Zubair’s complaint mentioned that the persons exploited social media networks to provoke mob aggression towards him by disclosing his location, disseminating “falsehoods and lies” about him, and attacking his Muslim identity.
The FIR mentions several people, including journalist Ajeet Bharti.
According to an Indian Express report, Zubair stated, “The targeting of my identity is unmistakable from the act of sending pork, which is not permissible for Muslims. Sending the banned meat, particularly during Ramzan is an assault on my religious identity and an affront to my dignity.”
Zubair accused the individuals named in the complaint of not only calling for his harm or assassination but also instigating hostility between two religious communities by singling out his Muslim identity.
The Alt News co-founder, infamous for sparking communal tensions and defaming Jai Shri Ram slogans by peddling lies in the Ghaziabad Loni fake hate crime case, alleged that Ajeet Bharti ‘targeted and abused’ his religious identity in a tweet on March 6, 2023.
The tweet purportedly referred to circumcision and had referred to him as “jiska kata hua hai” as per Zubair’s allegations in the complaint.
“Ajeet Bharti, in a tweet on 06.03.2023, targeted and abused my religious identity by calling me ‘jiska kata hua hai’, which is a religious insult referring to circumcision since I am a practising Muslim. Further, he referred to me as Potassium Oxide (chemical combination K2O), which is another reference to the religious slur “Katwo” which is used to dehumanise and abuse Muslim men,” Zubair said.
However, Ajeet appeared unfazed by the FIR, choosing to respond to Zubair’s complaint with a popular meme from the ‘Welcome’ movie.
https://t.co/ZEzxFP5CWI pic.twitter.com/VBSrtynZdG
— Ajeet Bharti (@ajeetbharti) May 5, 2023
While a complaint was filed with the DJ Halli police on April 17th, the case was brought to attention only on Thursday, May 4th.
The case was registered under several sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 505 (public mischief), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on the grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and committing acts prejudicial to maintaining harmony), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 504 (intentional insult to provoke a breach of peace).
In addition, Zubair also alleged that Bharti fabricated a statement linking him to the murder of six Hindu men, which is an effort to provoke mob aggression against him. The statement refers to the killing of 6 Hindus in the wake of Zubair’s dog whistling against former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma, which touched off Sar Tan Se Juda violence across the country, with Islamists baying for the blood of Sharma for her comments on Prophet Muhammad.
Mohammed Zubair touches off Sar Tan Se Juda violence against Nupur Sharma; Hindus, including Kanhaiya Lal and Umesh Kolhe, were killed for supporting the beleaguered leader
Earlier last year, former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma found herself at the centre of a raging storm after Islamists, egged on by the likes of AltNews co-founder Mohammed Zubair, issued multiple threats against her and her family for expressing her views on Prophet Muhammad and Islam.
Sharma was part of a debate panel on Times Now, discussing the finding of Shivling in the Gyanvapi complex and the subsequent mockery of the Hindu Gods and Goddesses that followed in the wake of the discovery. Islamists had claimed that the Shivling discovered inside the wuzukhana of the Gyanvapi disputed structure was not a Shivling but a fountain. Across social media platforms, detractors had repeated ad nauseam that the Shivling found inside the Gyanvapi premises was a fountain and not an idol of a Hindu God.
In response to the contempt and scorn poured over Hindu Gods and Goddesses, which was evident even during the Times Now debate where some of the fellow panellists referred to the Shivling as a fountain, BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma asked them to refrain from insulting Hindu Gods and cited Islamic scriptures and Holy Quran for substantiating her remarks on Prophet Muhammad and Islam. Zubair shared an incomplete video of the debate, touching off Sar Tan Se Juda protests all over the country.
The ominous hounding of Nupur Sharma prompted many to extend their support to her. Kanhaiya Lal from Udaipur, Umesh Kolhe in Amravati, and many others extended their solidarity with the beleaguered leader, voicing their support for her amid the death threats from Islamists. However, Lal, Kolhe, and others became the victims of the Islamist fury, which regarded support for Nupur Sharma as supportive of blasphemy against the Islamic Prophet and, therefore, deserving of death.
