Mohammed Zubair, co-founder of Alt News and a self-proclaimed fact-checker, has been charged under Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which pertains to acts that endanger India’s sovereignty, unity, and integrity. The investigating officer informed the Allahabad High Court of the addition of this charge in the ongoing case.
The FIR was filed after a tweet by Zubair on X (formerly Twitter) allegedly led to a mob gathering at the Dasna Devi Temple in Ghaziabad. Supporters of Yati Narsinghanand, the temple’s priest, lodged the complaint, accusing Zubair of incitement. Zubair, who has previously been accused of provoking incidents such as the one involving former BJP leader Nupur Sharma, sought protection from arrest by appealing to the High Court.
On November 25, the Court directed the investigating officer to provide an affidavit outlining the specific charges against Zubair. In a submission today, the officer confirmed that two additional charges had been added: Section 66 of the Information Technology Act and Section 152 of the BNS. The Court accepted these amendments and set the next hearing for December.
Earlier in October, an FIR was registered against Zubair after an attack on the Shiv Shakti Dham at Dasna Devi Temple. The complaint alleged that Zubair, along with Muslim leaders Arshad Madani and Asaduddin Owaisi, incited violence by encouraging local Muslims to mobilize outsiders to target the temple. The complaint was filed by BJP leader Dr. Udita Tyagi on October 7 at the Web City police station in Ghaziabad.
Dr. Tyagi claimed the October 5 attack on the temple was part of a premeditated conspiracy. She further alleged that Zubair, Owaisi, Madani, and other Muslim leaders had been consistently inciting violence against Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati. In her plea, she urged the authorities to identify those stoking communal unrest and to ensure Narsinghanand’s release and protection by providing adequate security.
(With inputs from Bar & Bench and OpIndia)
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