Mohammad Zubair evasive during questioning, Delhi police likely to visit his Bengaluru home

New Delhi, Jun 29: The Delhi police is now investigating the source of funding to fact checking website Alt News. The police had arrested the co-founder of the website Mohammad Zubair on Monday and the Patiala House Court on Tuesday remanded him to four days police custody.

Zubair is likely to be taken to Bengaluru on Wednesday by a four member police team. The team would visit his house to recover evidence including a mobile phone or laptop used to post the tweet in question. The police had told the court that his objectionable tweet of 2018 had led to a storm on Twitter with hate speeches that are detrimental to communal harmony.

The police also said that Zubair had used controversial tweets in an effort to get fame while adding that other FIRs were also registered against him in different matters. The police also said that he was evasive when asked questions and also did not provide the necessary technical equipment or cooperate with the authorities.

KPS Malhotra, deputy commissioner of police (intelligence fusion and strategic operations) said that in such cases finding the gadget used to post such tweets and the intention behind posting such a tweet is important. During questioning, he has been evasive on both the fronts. We found out that his phone was formatted. His evasiveness formed the grounds for his arrest.

Zubair's counsel told the court that the photo he had used in the tweet was from a 1983 Hindi film by Hrishikesh Mukherjee 'Kissi Se Na Kehna', and that the film was not banned. The court however rejected this contention and said that the submission was of no assistance to the accused at this stage.