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

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
NIA nabs 2 human traffickers from Delhi, HP for role in sending over 100 youths to US via ‘donkey route’

New Delhi, July 5: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday arrested two human traffickers from different locations in Himachal Pradesh and Delhi. The duo, accused of sending more than 100 youths to the United States using the notorious ‘donkey route’ were nabbed after extensive searches.
The accused were identified as Sunny Donker, a resident of Kangra (Himachal Pradesh) and Shubham Sandhal, a resident of Punjab who was currently residing in the national Capital.
Both are said to be associates of Gagandeep Singh alias Goldy, arrested earlier in March.
Gagandeep was arrested over a victim’s complaint who was illegally trafficked to the US using the infamous ‘donkey route’ and was deported back to India in February, this year.
Goldy, a resident of Tilak Nagar in Delhi, was subsequently chargesheeted by the NIA.
As per the findings of the law enforcement agency, Gagandeep Singh used to take around Rs 45 lakh from each victim on the pretext of sending them to US on a valid visa.
He would then illegally send them on an arduous journey via multiple countries, including Spain, El-Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico.
He had sent more than 100 victims illegally to the US, in this manner before being arrested.
Sunny was the main associate of Gagandeep Singh and played a key role in facilitating the journey of the victims on the ‘donkey route’.
Also, the victims were physically and mentally harassed on the way by agents to extract more money.
Shubham Sandhal operated as key hawala conduit, who transferred funds to agents in Latin America. Gagandeep used him to transfer part of the money taken from the victims to the agents based in Latin America.
The NIA, took over the case from Punjab Police in March this year. As the investigation proceeds, it continues to unravel dark secrets of the human trafficking racket.
Crime
Kolkata law college rape: Monojit Mishra made 16 calls in 3 hours, police probe details

Kolkata, July 4: Monojit Mishra, one of the three accused and reportedly the main architect in the law college student gang-rape case, made as many as 16 calls in three hours after the crime incident took place on the evening of June 25.
Those call details are currently being examined by the investigating sleuths, and at the same time, the process of interrogation of those with whom Mishra conversed during that period has started.
The tower locations of the mobile phones of the three accused, namely Mishra, Jaib Ahmed and Pramit Mukhopadhyay, during that period are being tracked by the investigating officials to have an idea of the places they went to immediately after the crime.
Sources said that one of the calls that Mishra made from his mobile phone during that period was to a member of the governing body of the same college. Although the governing body member concerned has already been questioned by the investigating officials, the latter are not willing to disclose anything on the interrogation findings for the sake of the investigation.
This week, the investigation into the case was handed over to the Detective Department of the city police, which has started the probe process by adding new sections against the three prime accused persons.
Before Detective Department took over the charge of the investigation, the three accused persons were charged under sections on rape. However, with the Detective Department taking over the investigation sections relating to abduction and causing injuries with weapons were also slapped on the three.
On Friday morning, around 3 a.m., the sleuths of the detective department reached the campus of the law college in Kolkata along with the three accused for reenactment of the incident.
Sources said that the findings of the reenactment process will be cross-checked with the statement given by the victim soon after the event of sexual harassment took place last week. Earlier, a member of the special investigation team, which was initially investigating the matter, had gone to the college campus with the victim for reenactment purposes.
The woman, a student of the South Calcutta Law College, was allegedly raped by two senior students and an alumnus of the institute in the guard’s room on June 25. Apart from the three, the college guard has been arrested in the case so far.
Crime
ED raids eight locations linked to ex-Cong MLA Amba Prasad in Jharkhand

Ranchi, July 4: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday carried out raids at eight locations linked to close associates of former Congress MLA Amba Prasad from Jharkhand’s Barkagaon Assembly constituency.
The raids are part of an ongoing money laundering probe involving a prominent company engaged in coal transportation, infrastructure, and the power sector.
According to sources, simultaneous searches were conducted in Ranchi, Hazaribagh, and Barkagaon.
Among the locations searched are the residence of Amba Prasad’s aide Sanjeet in Kishoreganj (Ranchi) and the homes of her personal assistants — Sanjeev Sao, Manoj Dangi, and Pancham Kumar — in Barkagaon.
Security forces have been deployed in large numbers at all the premises where raids are being conducted.
This move comes months after the ED conducted a similar crackdown between March 12 and March 14 this year, targeting Amba Prasad, her father, and former Minister Yogendra Sao, brother Ankit Raj, and several other relatives and associates.
During those raids, the agency had seized Rs 35 lakh in cash, digital devices, fake stamps of banks and government offices, handwritten receipts, diaries, and other incriminating documents.
Officials believe that the current searches are based on evidence and leads gathered during the earlier raids. The ED is now closely examining documents related to financial transactions, land deals, and mining activities.
Ten companies reportedly registered in the names of Amba Prasad and her family members are under scrutiny.
Earlier, the ED had questioned Amba Prasad, her father Yogendra Sao, and her brother Ankit Raj at its zonal office in Ranchi in connection with the same case.
Amba Prasad was elected to the Jharkhand Assembly from Barkagaon in 2019 on a Congress ticket. Her parents — Yogendra Sao and Nirmala Devi — have also represented the same constituency in the past.
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