Four days after Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair was arrested over a 2018 tweet, a senior Delhi Police officer told The Quint on Thursday, 30 June, that they have not yet established contact with the Twitter user who had tagged them in the contentious post.
"We have sought Twitter's help to identify the user," said the officer.
The senior officer further added, "It's not that important. When a PCR caller informs us about something, it's not necessary for us to know who the PCR caller is. Likewise, we received a complaint and we took action."
The Quint's legal editor, Vakasha Sachdev, however, said that it's imperative to know the identity of the complainant in such a case. Sachdev said, "Where the complaint involves an allegation of subjective harm, such as defamation, or something like outraging religious sentiments, the identity of the complainant becomes crucial. When it comes to a claim of outraging religious sentiments or causing enmity between communities, the complainant's viewpoint is crucial - as was the case here where the Twitter user was claiming offence on behalf of Hanuman followers."
The contentious 2018 tweet for which Zubair has been booked carried a picture of the signboard of a hotel visibly changed from 'Honeymoon Hotel' to 'Hanuman Hotel'. It is accompanied by the text: “BEFORE 2014: Honeymoon Hotel. After 2014: Hanuman Hotel”. A Twitter user, @balajikijaiin, had tagged the Delhi Police.
On the day of Zubair's arrest on Monday, DCP (Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations) KPS Malhotra had told The Quint that Delhi Police had filed an FIR after being tagged in the tweet and that the Twitter user had not submitted an official complaint.