Following the Uttar Pradesh police filing an FIR against Mohammed Zubair, the co-founder of Alt News and self-proclaimed fact-checker, under Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), for acts that endanger India’s sovereignty, unity, and integrity. The leaders of the opposition especially I.N.D.I bloc came to condemn the action.
The FIR was filed after Zubair’s tweet 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, filed the FIR, accusing Zubair of incitement. Zubair, who was previously charged with provoking incidents such as the one involving former BJP leader Nupur Sharma, sought protection from arrest by appealing to the High Court.
On 25 November, 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 FIR 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. BJP leader Dr Udita Tyagi filed the complaint on 7 October 2024 at the Web City police station in Ghaziabad.
Dr Tyagi claimed the October 5 attack on the temple was part of a deliberate 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.
Against this backdrop, the DMK Lok Sabha MP K. Kanimozhi condemned the move, describing it as an effort to silence those who bravely oppose divisive forces.
On 28 November 2024, via her X official account, Kanimozhi stated, “The UP police filed an affidavit to the Allahabad High Court, accusing fact-checking website ‘Alt News’ co-founder Mohammed Zubair of “endangering the sovereignty and unity of India.” This is an attempt to silence those who fight fearlessly against the divisive powers. The section BNS 152 invoked in this case is an example of how the law is misused systematically to suppress independent media and generally against people who dare to disagree. I strongly condemn this and urge all who believe in free speech to raise their voices against the intimidation towards independent journalism.”
The UP police filed an affidavit to the Allahabad High Court, accusing fact-checking website ‘Alt News’ co-founder Mohammed Zubair of “endangering the sovereignty and unity of India.”
This is an attempt to silence those who fight fearlessly against the divisive powers. The…
— Kanimozhi (கனிமொழி) (@KanimozhiDMK) November 28, 2024
On the one side the DMK and its allies in TN are condemning the arrest of fake news spreader and alleged fact checker Zubair and on the other side, the DMK goes on about with its spree of arrests. Below is the list of past actions of the DMK government, which involved stifling the expression of dissenting opinions, and led to a crackdown on freedom of speech.
- The Commune and its directors faced legal action for reporting on the confrontation between Podu Deekshitars of the Chidambaram Nataraja Temple and HR&CE officials.
- BJP IT Wing and Social Media State Secretary Trichy Pugal Machendran was arrested for an alleged provocative Facebook post celebrating the death of the terrorist Palani Baba on his death anniversary. The post referred to Palani Baba as a “poisonous influence.”
- TN BJP Functionary Pravin Raj was arrested in the wee hours of 1 October 2023 for his posts targeting the ruling party and the Congress.
- The Tamil Nadu police even went up to Noida to try to arrest journalist Abhijit Majumder for his article on Udhayanidhi Stalin’s eradicate Sanathana Dharma remarks.
- A critic of the DMK, Badri Seshadri, was arrested for his comments in an interview on a YouTube channel regarding the Manipur issue, during which he made remarks about the Chief Justice of India.
- Tamil Nadu BJP State Secretary SG Suryah was taken into custody under non-bailable sections for his comments regarding Madurai CPI-M MP Su Venkatesan concerning a sanitation worker’s tragic death during drain cleaning in Pennadam town, Cuddalore district.
- An AIADMK IT wing member was apprehended under non-bailable sections for sharing a video meme that humorously referenced MK Stalin’s video statement on Senthilbalaji’s arrest. The meme did not contain derogatory content.
- A Pro-BJP Twitter user was arrested for sharing an old article and allegedly misattributing DMK to an illegal liquor-producing gang in Tiruppur, following the recent hooch tragedy in Marakkanam.
- Vice President of Tamil Nadu BJP’s Industrial Cell, Selva Kumar, was arrested for criticizing DMK Minister Senthilbalaji.
- The admin of Voice of Savukku Shankar X handle was arrested for a video meme targeting CM MK Stalin and DMK Minister PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan regarding the “eligible household” clause in the monthly assistance scheme for women.
- The DMK government traveled to Gujarat to arrest BJP cadre John Ravi, who had made satirical social media posts about CM MK Stalin and his late father, Karunanidhi.
- N Muthuramalingam, the State Propaganda Secretary of South India Forward Bloc, was arrested for expressing his views on Facebook regarding the release of terrorists convicted in the 1998 Coimbatore serial blasts case. Muthuramalingam had criticized Dravidian parties for considering the release of 36 prisoners, including those convicted for life in the Coimbatore terror attack, leading to his arrest.
- In March 2024, Minjur Saleem, a pro-BJP activist found himself detained and later arrested for his dissenting views regarding the DMK Party’s governance, which he expressed on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
- In September 2024, Tamil director Mohan G was arrested for allegedly making false claims about contraceptives in Palani temple prasadam, linking it to adulteration controversies.
- In November 2024, a BJP supporter Johny Raja was arrested by Vellore Police for posting against the DMK.
- In November 2024, actress and political commentator Kasthuri was arrested over alleged remarks against Telugu community.
- In November 2024, IMK chief Arjun Sampath’s son Omkar Balaji was arrested for alleged remarks against Nakheeran Gopal.
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