Twitter handle that flagged Alt News' Mohd Zubair's 2018 tweet deleted

Mohammed Zubair of Alt News, 33, is currently in police custody and is being questioned over one of his objectionable tweets which he posted in 2018

The Twitter account that alerted Delhi Police regarding Alt news co-founder Mohammed Zubair's 'objectionable' post no longer exists on the social media platform.

According to the FIR copy of the case, accessed by IANS, the account, Hanuman Bhakt, bore the username @balajikijaiin.

Zubair, 33, is currently in police custody and is being questioned over one of his objectionable tweets which he posted in 2018.

After Zubair's tweet, his followers on social media amplified and created a series of debates and hate mongering in the thread.

According to the FIR, Zubair had used a screengrab of an old Hindi movie which showed an image of a hotel, with its board reading 'Hanuman hotel' instead of 'Honeymoon hotel'.

In his tweet, Zubair had written: "BEFORE 2014: Honeymoon Hotel. After 2014: Hanuman Hotel".

The complainant -- Twitter user @balajikijaiin, tagging the Delhi Police had written: "Linking our God Hanuman Ji with Honeymoon is a direct insult of Hindus because he is a brahmchari. Kindly take action against this."

Noting the complaint, the police in the FIR said that the words and pictures used by Zubair in the tweet against a particular community were highly provocative and more than sufficient to incite feelings of hatred among people which can be detrimental for maintenance of public tranquility in the society.

Interestingly, it was the only tweet that was done from the said account which ultimately led to Zubair's arrest.

The number of followers of the Twitter handle, which had flagged a 2018 tweet by Zubair against a Hindu deity, went past 1,200 in a night.

The issue of the said Twitter account's veracity also surfaced during Zubair's hearing on Tuesday.

His counsel Vrinda Grover said that if an anonymous Twitter handle chose to create mischief in the country, those reasons should be investigated.

The prosecutor, in her reply, said that the said account user is just a mere informer.

"He is not an anonymous complainant. His details are here. Without details, no one can get a Twitter account," the prosecutor replied.

On June 20, a case against Zubair was registered under sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, language etc.) and 295A (deliberate and malicious act intended to outrage religious feelings) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), KPS Malhotra, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations), had said.

According to the DCP, Zubair was arrested in connection with one of his tweets that had a questionable image with a purpose to deliberately insult the god of a particular religion.