Brutal attack on migrant worker: TN Police writes to X, wants posts by 22 handles, including Md Zubair of Alt News, to be taken down for ‘violent content’

Tamil Nadu police asked X take down posts including Zubair's about a crime in Tamil Nadu.
Muhammed Zubair and Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin (Images via indexoncensorship, PTI)

The Tamil Nadu Police have issued a notice directing X (Twitter) to remove 22 posts from its platform, which contained content relating to a recent incident of a migrant worker being attacked by some teenagers in Chennai. The notice was issued by DGP, Cyber Crime Wing, Tamil Nadu, Dr Sandeep Mittal, on December 29, 2025, under Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act, demanding the removal of the posts within 36 hours of the receipt of the notice.

Among the posts directed to be removed is a post by Alt News co-founder Muhammed Zubair, who was conferred the Kottai Ameer Communal Harmony Award, 2024, by Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin. Ironically, the citation to the award stated that “his (Zubair’s) work helps to prevent the occurrence of violence in society likely to be caused by fake news.”

While the order mentions 22 URLs for X posts, the first 19 URLs do not contain any username, and the letter ‘i’ is used instead. However, for posts that have not been deleted, they still open the respective posts. It appears that most posts had posted the video of the violent attack. The last three links contain the usernames, which are posts by Md Zubair, Polimer News and one Lalith Prashant. Zubair is yet to delete the post, while the other two have already removed their posts.

Notice given by Tamil Nadu police (Image via X/@vj_kazahagam)

Zubair had written in the post, “Just saw a very disturbing video of a man from Odisha getting brutally attacked with a machete by minors under the influence of drugs in Tiruvallur district, Tamil Nadu. Victim was dragged to a secluded spot and attacked near Thiruvallur Railway Station. 4 accused have been arrested by @TNTVLRPOLICE (3 in the juvenile observation Center 1 in Jail)”. He also included a screenshot of the video of the incident.

“The dissemination of such videos can negatively influence the younger generation to engage in violent behaviour and may lead to public disharmony. This type of content poses a serious threat to peace, public order, and social harmony, and may potentially result in law and order issues,” the notice read.

The posts are related to an incident in December 2025, in which a migrant worker from Odisha was brutally attacked by a group of four juveniles on a train on the way to Thiruthani from Chennai. The migrant worker was seriously injured in the attack. A video of the incident had gone viral on social media.

One of the attackers had later shared the video of the assault as an Instagram reel, brandishing a machete and using a Tamil song as background music. Zubair and many others have posted about the incident on X, leading to the action by the Tamil Nadu police.

Written by OpIndia Staff
Last modified at