After the arrest of Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair by the Delhi Police Special Cell, the investigation officers said in a statement that the donations made to the Alt News website would also be probed. Hindustan Times quoted an unnamed officer investigating the case saying that they were looking into donations to the website as some of those were allegedly made from ‘across the border’.
Earlier, Delhi Police said in a statement that transactions worth 50 lakh were done from Zubair’s account in the last few days. Alt News co-founder Pratik Sinha had rebutted the allegations by Delhi Police and called it a lie. He claimed he had Zubair’s account statements to “debunk” the claims.
The Delhi Police officer said there will be an investigation into who was making the donations and “if they’re from across the border. We’ll also see if the donations are not being used to convert black money into white.” In the second part of the investigation, the Police will investigate the ‘social media brigade that Zubair has’. The Police officer said, “It appears that his tweets are planned and pushed in a concerted manner. They are amplified by an army of people. If these are bots, then who is paying these bots. We are digging deep into this network that amplifies his tweets.”
Delhi Police has also alleged that Zubair has not been cooperating in the investigation. He had refused to hand over his electronic devices and also brought a formatted phone without any apps. Countering the allegations, Zubair’s lawyer claimed that he had lost his phone, and it was communicated to the Police. “The mobile phone he has is a new one, and police are aware of aware of the matter,” she claimed.
The arrest of Mohammed Zubair
Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair was arrested by Delhi Police under Sections 295 and 153A. He was sent to four-day police remand. Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO)’s Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) KPS Malhotra said formatting gadgets and non-cooperation in the investigation became the ground for his arrest.
