The Muzaffarnagar Police has booked against Journalist, Mohammed Zubair, co-founder of Alt News, for allegedly revealing the identity of a seven-year-old Muslim boy who was subjected to physical harm by his classmates on the orders of their teacher.
The case against Zubair has been filed under Section 74 of the Juvenile Justice Act following a complaint lodged by an individual named Vishnudutt. This section of the law stipulates penalties for the disclosure of the identity of child victims or witnesses involved in criminal cases. Those found guilty could face imprisonment of up to six months or a fine amounting to Rs 2 lakh.
On August 24, a video of the Muslim boy being slapped by his classmates went viral on social media. The incident took place in Muzaffarnagar’s Neha Public School, owned by Tripta Tyagi, who the teacher seen in the video was asking the boy’s classmates to hit him.
Tyagi has been booked under Sections 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) of the Indian Penal Code. However, the case against her has been registered under non-cognisable charges. This means that the police cannot arrest her without a warrant. The police also need permission from a court to start an investigation.
Earlier, posts of many users on social media were blocked by government after citizens expressed horror over the slapping of a Muslim child online.