Arrested Fact-Checker Mohammed Zubair's Laptop, Hard Disks Seized By Cops

A four-member Delhi Police team on Thursday seized a laptop and hard disks belonging to Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair from his residence in Bengaluru, officials said.

Mr Zubair was arrested on Monday for allegedly hurting religious sentiments of Hindus through an "objectionable" tweet he posted in 2018. On Tuesday, a Delhi court extended his custodial interrogation by four days.

The Delhi Police team reached Mr Zubair's residence at RT Nagar area in Bengaluru at around 11:30 am and collected electronic evidence, including his laptop and hard disks, a senior police officer said.

Mr Zubair has been brought back to Delhi where he will be further questioned about the case, he said.

On Wednesday, the police had written to multiple banks seeking information about Mr Zubair's account details and other financial transactions.

The officer also said the mobile phone being used by the co-founder of the fact-checking website had been formatted and did not have information related to the case.

According to police, Mr Zubair said he had lost the phone which was allegedly used in posting the objectionable tweet.

Meanwhile, the anonymous Twitter handle which flagged the tweet and raised a complaint, does not exist on the microblogging site anymore, sources in the Delhi Police said.

Mr Zubair has been booked under sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, language etc.) and 295A (deliberate and malicious act intended to outrage religious feelings) of the Indian Penal Code, according to police.