Google search of ‘techie terrorist Zubair’ threw up image: Janam TV issues statement for using Alt News’ Mohammad Zubair’s image for report on terrorist arrested for links to Al Qaeda

Google search of ‘techie terrorist Zubair’ threw up image: Janam TV issues statement for using Alt News’ Mohammad Zubair’s image for report on terrorist arrested for links to Al Qaeda

On 27th October, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrested a 35-year-old Pune-based IT professional named Zubair Hangargekar for having terror links. In its news card on the Al-Qaeda-linked terrorist, Janam TV, a Kerala-based media channel, used image of Alt News co-founder, Mohammed Zubair.

Taking to X, the factchecker-cum-propagandist tagged the Janam TV’s Tamil news handle and asked why his old picture was used in the case of Al-Qaeda linked terrorist. Mohammed Zubair also tagged Tamil Nadu and Chennai Police in his post published on 28th October.

“Hello @TamilJanamNews. Why are you using my photo for an unrelated incident @tnpoliceofffl @chennaipolice_,” he wrote.

Responding to Mohammed Zubair’s post, Anand T Prasad, the Digital Head of Tamil Janam TV said that they mistakenly used pictures of Mohammed Zubair in an unrelated incident. Prasad said that one of his team members did a Google search with keyword, “Techie Terrorist Zubair” to find image of the terrorist arrested by the ATS in Pune.

“Hello everyone, we would like to address a mistake that happened recently on our Tamil Janam platform. Earlier today, we published a card regarding the arrest of a person named #Zubair. Unfortunately, in that post, we mistakenly used the photo of another individual who has absolutely no connection with the incident. ‌This happened because, during the process of designing the card, our team member searched for images on Google using the keywords “Techie Terrorist Zubair,” Prasad wrote.

The Digital Head of Tamil Janam further stated that his team member came across a photo that looked similar and “assumed it was the same person mentioned in the news. Without proper verification, the image was used in the design.”

Anand T Prasad added that his team has talked to the designer who made this mistake and have taken measures to ensure such errors are not repeated.

“Following this incident, we have spoken to the designer involved and have taken steps to ensure that such a mistake does not happen again,” he wrote.

As reported earlier, the Maharashtra ATS arrested  a 35-year-old Pune-based IT professional for having terror links. The accused has been named as Zubair Hangargekar who is from the Kondhwa neighbourhood of Pune. He was arrested over charges of owning literature from the terrorist group al-Qaida. His friend was also arrested for interrogation at the Pune train station shortly after the two returned from Chennai after a function.

An FIR was also submitted against Zubair under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). On 9th October, the ATS raided the homes and workplaces of 19 suspects, including him, in response to information gathered during the investigation into the Satara robbery and terror funding case, according to ATS sources. The authorities confiscated various electronic equipment, including laptops, hard drives and cell phones as well as documents and books during the operation.

Written by OpIndia Staff
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