AltNews co-founder arrest: Police request 14 more days for probe
text_fieldsNew Delhi: Following the arrest of the AltNews co-founder Mohamed Zubair, the Delhi police has added new charges of criminal conspiracy and destruction of evidence in the case of the alleged tweet of 2018.
The latest charges are added along with Section 35 of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) was submitted by the Delhi Police in Patiala House Court.
With money laundering mentioned in the FIR, chances for the Enforcement Directorate to step into the case are also visible.
The police have also requested 14-day custody of the journalist for further questioning on the case. Mohamed Zubair's lawyer has moved for bail before the court.
The journalist was arrested by the Delhi Police on June 27 for a tweet in 2018 that allegedly hurt religious sentiments. He was arrested days after BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma's remarks on Prophet Mohammed sparked violence in the country.
Illegal transactions over Rs 50 lakh were also found in Zubair's bank account, the police said. However, these allegations were rejected by the journalist's counsel claiming that the newspaper agency only received funds through open-source crowdfunding.