A day after fact-checking website Alt News co-founder Mohammad Zubair was arrested by the Delhi Police, officials said on Tuesday that his "objectionable tweet of 2018 led to a Twitter storm with hate speeches, detrimental to communal harmony".
"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," said KPS Malhotra, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Intelligence Fusion & Strategic Operations).
Zubair was arrested by the Delhi Police on Monday for allegedly hurting religious sentiments through one of his tweets posted in 2018, officials said.
His arrest drew condemnations from various quarters, including journalists' bodies and Opposition parties.
On Tuesday, Alt News co-founder Pratik Sinha rejected a media report that Zubair had received Rs 50 lakh in his account in the last three months.
Sinha shared the news article on Twitter and said, "Fact-check: Absolutely lies. Police is linking donations received by Alt News to Zubair. All the money that Alt News receives goes to the organisations bank and not any individuals. The bank statement of Zubair's personal account of which I have a copy debunks this falsehood."
Earlier this month, 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), the DCP said.
However, 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, he said.
Police said the case was registered on the complaint of a Twitter user who accused Zubair of hurting religious sentiments.
On Monday, Sinha 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.
