Alt News Co-Founder Mohammed Zubair Alleges He Received Death Threats, Pork Sent To His House; Bengaluru Police Registers Case

The Bengaluru police have registered a case against 16 Twitter accounts on complaint of Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair.

In his complaint, Zubair accused the 16 Twitter accounts of sharing his address on social media and sending him death threats.

He also complained that during Ramzan, a Twitter user with the handle @cyber_Huntss sent him pork via a pet food website.

A tweet by @cyber_Huntss on 9 April mentioned sending pork to Zubair and revealing his residence. The tweet was later deleted.

The First Information Report (FIR) mentions the names of Ajeet Bharti and many others.

In his complaint, Zubair alleged that these individuals are using social media platforms to incite mob violence against him by revealing his address, spreading "lies and falsehoods" about him, and targeting his Muslim identity.

"This targeting of my identity is abundantly clear from the sending of pork that is not consumed by Muslims at all. To especially send the prohibited meat during the month of Ramzan is to target me for my religious identity and attack my dignity," he said, reports Indian Express.

He alleged that the individuals mentioned in the complaint "not only sought that I should be killed or harmed", but also incited animosity between two religious groups by targeting his Muslim identity.

In his complaint, Zubair alleged that Ajeet Bharti "targeted and abused" his religious identity in a tweet on the 6 March 2023.

The tweet had allegedly made a reference to circumcision and had called him ‘jiska kata hua hai’.

“Ajeet Bharti, in a tweet on 06.03.2023, targeted and abused my religious identity by calling me ‘jiska kata hua hai’, which is a religious insult making reference to circumcision since I am a practising Muslim. Further, he referred to me as Potassium Oxide (chemical combination K2O), which is another reference to the religious slur “Katwo” which is used to dehumanise and abuse Muslim men," Zubair said.

Zubair further alleged that Bharti had "made a completely false statement linking the killing of six Hindu men to me, which is an attempt to incite mob violence against me. He has a following of 118.5 thousand users on Twitter".

The case, registered on 17 April on Zubair's complaint by DJ Halli police, came to light only on Thursday (4 May).

The case was reportedly registered under IPS sections 505 (public mischief), 153a (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace).