The arrested journalist and fact-checker Mohammad Zubair’s lawyer Vrinda Grover on Tuesday told Delhi Court that his client has been arrested for a 2018 tweet.
She added Zubair has been arrested despite his shared tweet in 2018 was a screenshot from a 1983 movie cleared by the censor board, reported NDTV.
"Many have tweeted the same, the only difference between those handles and mine is my faith, my name and my profession," the report quoted Zubair as having told the court.
Zubair, who is co-founder of fact-checking website Alt News, had shared an image from Hrishikesh Mukherjee's classic 'Kissi Se Na Kehna'.
The image shows a hotel signboard that reads 'Hanuman Hotel' in Hindi, but paint marks suggest it was earlier called 'Honeymoon Hotel'.
Zubair had written with the image: "Before 2014: Honeymoon Hotel, After 2014: Hanuman Hotel", in what appeared to be a dig at the BJP coming to power in 2014, the report mentioned.
Zubair's lawyer also rubbished the Delhi police's claim that he had edited the image, and said there was no basis to charges of hurting religious sentiments or promoting enmity.
"This is not a place of worship... It is joke on honeymooners," the report quoted Zubair’s lawyer as having said.
"What has happened between 2018-2022 because of this tweet?... My client is being targeted for his work. He may be challenging people who are powerful but that can't be a reason for his harassment," the lawyer added.
Delhi Police, however, sought five days of custody, citing other FIRs registered against him.
Zubair was arrested by the Delhi Police last evening, days after he flagged a video of since-suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma's provocative remarks against Prophet Mohammed on a TV show.
