Alt News Co-Founder Mohammed Zubair Sentenced To 14-Day Police Custody: What's Happened So Far?
|Zubair's advocate informed the media that while Zubair was in custody under Section 66 of the IT Act and Section 295A of the IPC, Section 153A of the IPC was added by the police when the hearing for his bail matter was held on Thursday.
An Uttar Pradesh court on Thursday, July 7, granted the custody of Alt News co-founder and fact-check journalist Mohammed Zubair till July 14 to the UP Police. Zubair was brought from Delhi's Tihar Jail on the afternoon of Thursday under tight security.
The Delhi Police brought Alt News co-founder to Sitapur in reference to a case registered against him at the Khairabad police station for reportedly hurting religious sentiments with a tweet that he had shared from his official Twitter handle.
Zubair Remains In Police Custody
Previously, Zubair was brought on July 4, and the court had sent him to 14-day judicial custody. The journalist was taken back to the Tihar Jail, where he was lodged after his arrest on June 27 in relation to another case for hurting religious sentiments, reported News18.
Mukul Mishra, Zubair's advocate, informed the media that while he was in custody under Section 66 of the IT Act and Section 295A of the IPC, Section 153A of the IPC was added by the police when the hearing for his bail matter was held on Thursday. Afterwards, police gave yet another application asking for remand, claiming that the cell phone Zubair used for making the alleged tweet still remains in Bengaluru, Mishra revealed.
What's Happened So Far?
Arguments on police remand were also heard, and Zubair's bail application was then denied. The court also granted the state police his custody until 14, Mishra stated. Sources have revealed that the Alt News co-founder may be taken to Bengaluru for recovery of his mobile and hard disk that were used to spread the alleged hate tweets.
Earlier in June, Zubair had pointed out the controversial remarks passed by the then BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma on Prophet Mohammed, which sparked nationwide violence and protests, along with largescale condemnation from a host of countries. The fury prompted the PM Modi-led government to distance themselves from Sharma's remarks, and the ruling BJP decided to suspend her and sack party spokesperson Naveen Kumar Jindal as well.