Khushi Bajpai
Published on: October 12, 2022 at 19:45 IST
Fact-checker Mohammed Zubair was accused of threatening a girl on Twitter, but the Delhi Police claimed that there was “no cognizable offense” against him.
The National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) called this declaration “incorrect” in a court filing in Delhi on Tuesday.
The Delhi Police’s stance, according to the NCPCR, exposes the “casual attitude” of the authorities. The NCPCR asked the high court to direct the police to undertake a comprehensive inquiry into the case and wrap it up as soon as feasible.
Based on the data the police gave in their month of May status report, the child rights organization asserted Zubair had been trying to elude the investigation and not collaborating with the authorities.
In its affidavit to the Delhi High Court, NCPCR claimed the following:
“The petitioner’s malicious intent to conceal the facts is obvious, and it is believed that this is delaying the inquiry into this issue significantly. The Delhi Police’s claim that there is no evidence of a cognisable offense against the petitioner is false as well and reflects the force’s lax approach to the investigation.”
The NCPCR claims that retweeting the girl’s picture put her safety in danger, exposed her to online harassment, and assisted her father in revealing her name.
“Statements made on the photo of the young girl also included comments that were in the type of sexual harassment and was seen to be in violation of the provisions of the POCSO Act, IPC, and IT Act,” the NCPCR continued.
According to the affidavit, Zubair didn’t delete the tweet or alert the authorities to other Twitter users who had posted offensive comments.
In the affidavit, the child rights organization asked the court to conduct a comprehensive inquiry.
According to the statement, “The NCPCR requests that the court direct the Delhi Police to conduct a thorough investigation in this case and complete the same on a priority basis in light of the violations committed against the minor girl in the said case and the information provided by the Delhi Police in its status report dated May 14, 2022.”
In September of last year, the high court gave the police orders not to take any coercive action against Zubair in the case.
It also gave Twitter India instructions to help the authorities with their probe.
The FIR was described by Zubair as “an entirely ridiculous complaint.” In revenge for Zubair’s posts, according to his attorney, a man denigrated, harassed, and even posted comments on his Twitter profile with clear communal connotations.
Later on, the fact-checker published the display photo of the dad holding his young daughter, whose face Mr. Zubair had blurred.