Arshdeep trolling: BJP leader files complaint against Zubair for ‘conspiring’ with ‘Pakistani elements’

BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa has filed a police complaint against Alt News cofounder Mohammed Zubair, accusing him of working with “Pak agencies” to set a “Khalistani” narrative against cricketer Arshdeep Singh.

The Arshdeep controversy took place after he dropped a catch in the penultimate over of an India-Pakistan match. Things took an ugly turn on social media with multiple posts accusing him of being “anti-national” and “Khalistani”; his Wikipedia page was also vandalised.

Zubair had flagged the online trolling against Arshdeep, including posting screenshots of tweets abusing the 23-year-old cricketer.

For Sirsa, this was proof that Zubair was “acting in connivance with anti-national elements across the border” by “trying to portray that such abusive and malicious tweets were posted by Indian Twitter handles” instead of Twitter handles based in Pakistan.

According to a letter he sent to the Delhi police commissioner, Sirsa asked the police to “urgently investigate the matter to unearth the conspiracy entered into by Mohammed Zubair in connivance with Pakistani elements”. He asked that an FIR be registered as well. A copy of the letter was also sent to the Parliament Street police station.