Mohammed Zubair Admitted Receiving Rs 2 Crore For A Tweet, UP Govt Tells Supreme Court

A few days ago, Mohammed Zubair was arrested over a 2018 tweet by the Delhi Police for allegedly hurting religious sentiments. He is the co-founder of the fact-check website Alt News and has been accused of allegedly getting money from Pakistan and other countries. He was booked under various sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 201( disappearance of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code. Police have also accused Zubair of receiving foreign funds in violation of the FCRA (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act).

"Donations have come from Pakistan and Syria. Zubair is the director of Pravda media," public prosecutor Atul Shrivastava said in the court adding that money was also received from Singapore, the UAE, and Riyadh.

Now, the Uttar Pradesh government has informed the Supreme Court that Zubair admitted to receiving money for the tweets he posted on micro-blogging site.

Advocate Garima Prasad, appearing for the UP government, told the bench headed by Justice DY Chandrachud that Zubair admitted he got Rs 12 lakh for posting one tweet, and Rs 2 crore for another.  She further stated that the payments will be more if the tweet is more provocative.