Alt News journalist Mohammad Zubair arrested by Delhi Police

Mohammed Zubair. Pic/ official Twitter account

Journalist and Alt News co-founder Mohammad Zubair was arrested by the Delhi Police on Monday, the police said. According to the PTI, officials said, "Zubair was arrested for allegedly hurting religious sentiments."

"A case was earlier registered under sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, language etc) and 295A (deliberate and malicious act intended to outrage religious feelings) of the Indian Penal Code against Zubair," K P S Malhotra, DCP (Cyber Crime) was quoted by PTI.

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Malhotra added, "Zubair joined the probe on Monday and after gathering sufficient evidence on record, he was arrested."

Following his arrest AltNews co-founder Pratik Sinha tweeted a press note saying, Zubair was called to Delhi for questioning in a different case but arrested in this one. Mandatory notice was not given."

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor also tweeted and termed his arrest an 'assault on truth.' He wrote, "India's few fact-checking services, especially AltNews perform a vital service in our post-truth political environment. They debunk falsehoods whoever perpetrates them."

(with PTI Inputs)