Twitter handle that flagged Zubair’s 2018 tweet deleted: Police sources

By PTI

NEW DELHI: The anonymous Twitter handle, a complaint from which led to Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair’s arrest, does not exist on the microblogging website anymore.

Sources in the Delhi Police said the Twitter handle that had raised the issue of Zubair’s tweet has been deleted. “We are trying to identify and trace the user of the Twitter account to ascertain the reason behind him or her deleting the account. However, we suspect that the person must be scared after the matter came to limelight,” a source said.

The number of followers of the Twitter handle, which had flagged a 2018 tweet by Zubair against a Hindu deity, went past 1,200 in a night.

“The Twitter handle namely Hanuman Bhakt @balajikijaiiin had shared a tweet against another Twitter handle in the name of Mohammed Zubair@zoo_bear, in which it has been tweeted by Zubair that ‘Before 2014: Honeymoon Hotel. After 2014: Hanuman Hotel’ and has shown a picture of a signboard of a hotel named “Honeymoon Hotel” changed to “Hanuman Hotel,” the FIR read.

ALSO READ | Journalists should not be jailed for ‘what they write, tweet and say’: UN spokesperson on Zubair’s arrest

According to the first information report, @balajikijaiiin tweeted: “Linking our God Hanuman ji with Honey Moon is direct insult of Hindus because he is brahmchari. Kindly take action against this guy. ”

A Delhi court on Tuesday extended Zubair’s custodial interrogation by four days.

The co-founder of the fact-checking website was arrested by the Delhi Police on Monday for allegedly hurting religious sentiments through one of his tweets posted in 2018.

On June 20, a case against Zubair was 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 (IPC), KPS Malhotra, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations), had said.

According to the DCP, Zubair 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.