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Was fact-checker Zubair arrested for being evasive, uncooperative?

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Alt news’ co-founder Mohammed Zubair was arrested as he was not at all being cooperative with the police in the investigation of a case registered against him, a senior Delhi Police official said on Tuesday.

Zubair came into major limelight after he posted BJP’s now suspended spokesperson Nupur Sharma’s controversial comment on Prophet Mohammed. He was arrested on Monday for his objectionable tweets which he posted in 2018.

After his arrest, the police said he was not cooperating with the investigation. “We had served him a notice under section 41 A of the CrPc, but he was evasive and not cooperating in the investigation,” the official told IANS.

The official said that Zubair was “evasive on the questions” and neither provided the necessary technical equipment for the purpose of the investigation nor cooperated in the investigation.

“During investigation, the conduct of Mohammed Zubair was found questionable, which warranted his custodial interrogation to unravel the conspiracy in this matter,” the official added.

The section 41 A of the Code of Criminal Procedure deals with the notice of appearance before police officers.

Under this, the police officer shall, in all cases where the arrest of a person is not required, issue a notice directing the person against whom a reasonable complaint has been made, or credible information has been received, or a reasonable suspicion exists that he has committed a cognizable offence, to appear before him or at such other place as may be specified in the notice.

When such a notice is issued to any person, it shall be the duty of that person to comply with the terms of the notice. When such person complies and continues to comply with the notice, he shall not be arrested in respect of the offence referred to in the notice unless, for reasons to be recorded, the police officer is of the opinion that he ought to be arrested.

And when the person being questioned is not cooperative, the law says that if such person, at any time, fails to comply with the terms of the notice or is unwilling to identify himself, the police officer may, subject to such orders as may have been passed by a competent court in this behalf, arrest him for the offence mentioned in the notice.

The official said that the counsel for the accused Mohammed Zubair moved application for grant of bail, however, the same was heard at length and not finding the merits, the bail was ultimately declined.

The 33-year-old fact-checker is currently under police custody and is being interrogated over one of his objectionable tweets which he posted in 2018. After Zubair’s tweet, his followers on social media entities amplified and created a series of debates and hate mongering in the thread.

“He was examined in this separate case and his role was found objectionable,” the official said.

The police have charged Zubair with Indian Penal Code sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence) and 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs).

Sources told IANS that the tweet for which Zubair is being questioned is 4 years old. In the said tweet, accused Zubair had used a screengrab of an old Hindi movie which showed an image of a hotel, with its board reading ‘Hanuman hotel’ instead of ‘Honeymoon hotel’.

In his tweet, Zubair had written, “BEFORE 2014: Honeymoon Hotel. After 2014: Hanuman Hotel”.

Meanwhile, the Opposition left no chance to train guns at the present dispensation and accused them of curbing free speech and targeting those who are exposing the BJP.

“Every person exposing BJP’s hate, bigotry and lies is a threat to them. Arresting one voice of truth will only give rise to a thousand more. Truth ALWAYS triumphs over tyranny,” tweeted Rahul Gandhi soon after the news of fact-checker’s arrest broke out.

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that Altnews and Zubair have been in the forefront of exposing the “bogus claims of the Vishguru”, who has struck back with a vengeance characteristic of him. “Delhi Police, reporting to the Union Home Minister, has long lost any pretensions of professionalism and independence,” he said.

Pertinent to mention here that Zubair was the first person to share former Bharatiya Janata Party leader Nupur Sharma’s alleged remarks against Prophet Mohammed during a TV debate.

The controversial statement made by Nupur Sharma set off an international furore. Several Muslim nations, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Indonesia and Iran, as well as the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation officially protested their statements and demanded an apology.

Following the uproar, the Bharatiya Janata Party suspended Sharma and another leader, Naveen Kumar Jindal, who also made insulting comments against Prophet Muhammad on social media.

However, soon after her comments, Sharma was targeted on social media and received thousands of death threats following which the police provided a security cover to her.

She had lodged a complaint with the Delhi Police on May 27 alleging that she had been receiving death threats and was a target of hatred.

Crime

Telangana Governor gives nod for KTR’s prosecution in Formula E race case

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Hyderabad, Nov 20: Telangana Governor Jishnu Dev Varma has given his nod to prosecute former minister and BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao in the Formula E race case.

The nod comes two months after the state government sent the file to the Governor seeking his permission to prosecute the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader in the case relating to alleged misuse of Rs 54.88 crore public funds.

This will pave the way for the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to file the charge sheet.

It was in September that the ACB submitted its report and, through the state government, sought the Governor’s sanction to prosecute K.T. Rama Rao (KTR), senior IAS officer Arvind Kumar and others.

However, the prosecution of Arvind Kumar requires permission from the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) of the Central government. It was immediately not clear if the ACB would file the charge sheet against all the accused after receiving permission from DoPT or file an initial charge sheet against KTR.

After nine months of probe into the alleged irregularities in hosting the Formula E race in Hyderabad during the previous BRS regime, the ACB had submitted its report to the government.

He has been accused of receiving Rs 44 crore in the form of an electoral bond from a sponsorship company as a quid pro quo for granting it rights to organise the race.

The ACB in December last year booked a case against KTR, former Special Chief Secretary, Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD), Arvind Kumar and the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority’s (HMDA) former Chief Engineer B.L.N. Reddy for alleged Rs 54.88 crore irregularities in the Formula E deal.

After the Governor gave his permission for the probe, the FIR was registered on a complaint by Principal Secretary, MA&UD, M. Dana Kishore, who stated that foreign remittances were made without prior approvals of the relevant regulatory authorities, which resulted in additional tax burden to HMDA to the tune of Rs 8.06 crore.

The complainant also alleged that the payment was made while the Model Code of Conduct was in effect for the elections to the state Assembly without any prior approval of the Election Commission. The FIR was registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act as well as under the Indian Penal Code’s (IPC) Sections 409 (criminal breach of trust) and 120B (criminal conspiracy).

The ACB questioned KTR, Arvind Kumar and B.L.N. Reddy multiple times in the case.

The former minister, who was questioned by the ACB four times, dismissed the Formula E case as a “bogus case”.

KTR said he had made every effort to bring the Formula E race to Hyderabad. He admitted that it was he who had directed the release of Rs 46 crore from the government, but clarified that the funds had been deposited directly into the designated account. “Not a single rupee has been misused. Every rupee is accounted for. Where then is the corruption?” he asked.

The BRS leader asserted that even if prosecution proceeded or charge sheets were filed, nothing would stand.

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Crime

Vasai Schoolgirl Death Case: Teacher Arrested After 100-Squat Punishment Turns Fatal For 13-Year-Old

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Vasai: In the case involving the death of a 13-year-old student at Shri Hanumant Vidya Mandir School in Vasai, a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder has been registered against teacher Mamata Yadav. It is alleged that the punishment given by the teacher led to the girl’s deteriorating health and eventual death. The police registered the case after receiving the medical report and arrested the teacher on Wednesday.

Kajal Gaund, the student, was studying in the sixth standard at Shri Hanumant Vidya Mandir School in Sativali, Vasai East. On November 8, some children arrived late for school. The class teacher, Mamata Yadav, punished the children, including Kajal, by making them do 100 squats while carrying their school bags on their shoulders.

After returning home from school, Kajal’s health deteriorated. She was admitted to the hospital for treatment, but she passed away during the course of treatment. The incident had severe repercussions. On Tuesday, the post-mortem report was received by the police from the JJ Hospital.

Consequently, the Valiv Police finally booked teacher Mamata Yadav under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act for being responsible for the death. The teacher was arrested on Wednesday evening.

“Initially, a case of accidental death was registered in this matter. However, based on the inquiry and the medical report, a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder has been registered against the teacher, and she was arrested yesterday evening,” said Dilip Ghuge, Senior Police Inspector of the Valiv Police Station.

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Crime

Delhi Police solve robbery case in 48 hours, arrest two

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New Delhi, Nov 19: In a coordinated operation, the South-West District Police solved a robbery case within 48 hours, arresting two men who allegedly targeted a commuter in the Vasant Kunj area.

According to a press release issued by the district police on Wednesday, the accused, both 22 years old and residents of Mahipalpur, were tracked down through extensive CCTV analysis and sustained field efforts.

The incident took place on November 14 when a PCR call alerted PS Vasant Kunj South about a robbery. Police officials rushed to the spot where the complainant, identified as K.K. from Gurugram, reported that two men forcibly snatched his phone and made him transfer Rs 1,500 from his account before fleeing.

A case under FIR No. 471/2025 was registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and investigation began immediately.

Given the seriousness of the crime, a specialised team led by Sub Inspector Ravi Malik and comprising Head Constable Naveen, HC Nemi Chand, Constable Harish and Woman Constable Suman was formed to track the culprits. The team combed through CCTV footage across multiple routes, including NH-48, Vasant Kunj Road and Mahipalpur Road. Their efforts led them to Ashish, one of the suspects, who was subsequently detained.

Police said Ashish confessed during interrogation that he and his associate Abhishek Dixit, also known as Golu, had committed the robbery. Acting on this information, a follow-up search operation resulted in the arrest of Abhishek from a wooded area near Arjun Camp.

Both men worked in Mahipalpur hotels on a commission basis, according to the press release. One of them, Ashish, is a drug user, while Abhishek is illiterate.

The police recovered the robbed iPhone SE and the clothes the accused were allegedly wearing during the robbery. “Further investigation is in progress,” the press release issued by Amit Goel, Deputy Commissioner of Police, South-West District, stated.

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