Just so we get the facts right: The charge for ‘destruction of evidence’ against Zubair is a journalist’s refusal to divulge sources. Because the police are demanding the equipment from which he made a tweet in 2018, 4 years ago. What would they do with this equipment, you ask? How will it help in proving he tweeted something? It’s on his timeline already. He doesn’t deny it. So, why do they need his phone? Well, they don’t care about the tweet. They want to go through his phone, which, if Zubair is anything like the average Indian, most probably isn’t the same phone he had 4 years ago.
As far as those who believe that AltNews was receiving ‘foreign funds’, let me add that anyone who has ever had to send or receive foreign exchange from or to India would vouch for this: It is not just not easy to do so, it is impossible but for the highest and most connected (and those that deal in cash without a paper trail) to do so without at least half a dozen government agencies and your banks (and the RBI) knowing about it and following every cent along the way. To claim that AltNews would receive such funds clandestinely is laughable at best and mischievous at worst. But there is no need to guess here. Let’s just say that it is not the best-case scenario being played out.
I thought I’d put this out for those who are taken in by headlines. Remember that with this regime at the helm of affairs in this country, the process is the punishment. And as far as the winning against the system goes, we might do well to remember that the dice are loaded and the house always wins.
