'Request PM Modi's immediate intervention': Mumbai Press Club on Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair's arrest

Alt News journalist Mohammed Zubair was arrested on Monday (June 27) by Delhi police for allegedly hurting religious sentiments through a 2018 tweet.

Pic Credit: PTI

New Delhi: The Mumbai Press Club on Tuesday condemned the arrest of Mohammed Zubair, journalist and co-founder of the fact-checking website Alt News, by the Delhi police. Zubair was arrested on Monday over a tweet of 2018 for allegedly hurting religious sentiments. In a statement, the Mumbai Press Club said, "Zubair should be released immediately. We also request Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah's immediate intervention in this matter."

Many other journalists' organizations have also condemned Zubair's arrest by the police in the national capital. Alt News co-founder Pratik Sinha has alleged that Zubair was arrested in a case for which no notice was given by the police, which is mandatory under law for the sections under which he has been held, the Mumbai Press Club noted in the statement.

Earlier this month, a case was registered against Zubair 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 (IPC).

But as per Delhi Police, he was arrested in connection with one of his tweets that had a questionable image with a purpose to deliberately insult the god of a particular religion.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Zee News staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)