Uttar Pradesh Police on November 16, 2019, has arrested a journalist from Delhi for alleged “hurtful” tweets on the Ayodhya verdict. 

Ali Sohrab (35) claims to be a journalist in his Twitter biography. He has over a lakh followers on the social media platform.

As per reports, Sohrab was picked up from his relatives’ house at Nand Nagri in Delhi. His brother Sabre Alam told The Sunday Express that he had come to visit them. “Today (Saturday), some policemen in civil clothes came to our house and started asking about him. There were around seven UP policemen and they arrested him, besides seizing his two laptops and a phone,” said Alam. 

Alam further said that the police informed them about an FIR which was filed against Sohrab in Lucknow’s Hazratganj police station. “They just said that the FIR was related to his tweets,” he added.

According to Lucknow police, earlier another complaint was filed on October 20, 2019, against Sohrab by Sub-inspector Shrikant Mishra at Lucknow Cyber Crime police station. The complaint stated that “@alisohrab007 is knowingly posting tweets, in which a particular religion is being disrespected, causing enmity between different religious groups.” 

Reportedly, the complaint was filed for an alleged “hurtful” tweet related to the murder of former Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha president Kamlesh Tiwari last month. 

“The arrest was made by the Lucknow police team with help from their Ghaziabad counterparts. The team included an inspector, a sub-inspector and other constables. The accused was taken to Lucknow where further proceedings would take place,” said Prakash Kumar, Additional SP, Crime, Ghaziabad. 

(With inputs from agencies)