Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair was on Monday arrested by the Delhi Police’s IFSO unit in connection with an “objectionable tweet” he had posted in 2018 against a Hindu deity, officers said.
The arrest quickly resulted in a strong political backlash with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tweeting in his support: “Every person exposing BJP’s hate, bigotry and lies is a threat to them. Arresting one voice of truth will only give rise to a thousand more. Truth ALWAYS triumphs over tyranny #DaroMat”.
Other senior Congress leaders such as Shashi Tharoor and Supriya Shrinate and Oposition leaders like Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien also spoke out against the arrest. “Strongly condemn the arrest of one of the world’s finest journalists who exposes the BJP’s #FakeNews factory every single day,” Mr. O’Brien tweeted.