Muhammad Zubair, one of the founders of the fact-checking website Alt News, was arrested on Monday by the Delhi Police for allegedly hurting religious emotions in one of his tweets. Several political leaders have condemned the arrest and the BJP-led Central government.
Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra criticised the Delhi Police for "bending over backwards to please sahibs." She claimed Muhammad Zubair was arrested "on a fabricated charge" while "Ms Fringe Sharma lives a life of protection."
Suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma's provocative comment about Prophet Mohammad earlier this month sparked massive rioting in numerous states and drew international condemnation.
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"Arresting one voice of reality will solely give rise to a thousand extra,"wrote Congress leader Rahul gandhi on Twitter.
Meanwhile Kerala MLA, M.K Muneer, in favour of Zubair wrote, "What an irony that the person who made hate speech is roaming free while the journalist who uncovered it is detained."
Zubair was booked under sections 153A (promotion of enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language) and 295A (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Delhi Police said.
According to police, a complaint was received against the co-founder through Twitter regarding a tweet by Zubair.
