Alt News co-founder Zubair sent to 14-day custody by Lakhimpur Kheri court

LAKHIMPUR: Alt News Co-founder Mohammad Zubair has been sent to 14-day judicial custody by the Lakhimpur Kheri court in a case filed against him for allegedly promoting enmity.

Assistant Prosecuting Officer Avadhesh Yadav said that Zubair was produced in the court of the Mohammadi additional chief judicial magistrate through video conferencing.

The prosecution had sought police custody which was countered by Zubair's lawyer. The court remanded him in judicial custody for 14 days, Yadav said. The next hearing on his police custody application has now been scheduled for July 13, he added.

The Lakhimpur Kheri police had issued a warrant for Zubair to appear in court in connection with an FIR registered against him for inciting enmity in 2021.

Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Arun Kumar Singh spoke to PTI on Saturday and said, "The court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) Mohammadi in Kheri district has issued the warrant against Mohd Zubair, which was served by Kheri police on Friday."

Mohammadi police station in charge Ambar Singh had told the agency that the case against Zubair was lodged on November 25 by a reporter for a private channel, Ashish Katiyar.

"In his complaint, Katiyar had accused Zubair of misleading people through his tweet about his channel," he said.