Alt News owner Pravda Media received Rs 2.31 lakh from foreign countries: Police

New Delhi, July 2: Fact-checking website Alt News' parent company Pravda Media has received a total donation of Rs 2,31,933 from foreign countries, a Delhi Police official said on Saturday. "Analysis of the replies of Razorpay Payment gateway shows that there were various transactions in which either the mobile number or the IP address belonged to foreign countries," a senior Delhi Police official told IANS. The foreign countries and cities include western Australia, North Holland, Singapore, central, western and eastern provinces of UAE, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Baladyat ad Dawah, Riyadh Region, Washington, New York, Kansas, New Jersey, Ontario, California, Texas, Lower Saxony, England, Bern, Uusimaa, Scotland, Bangkok among others." A total of about Rs 2,31,933 have been received by the Pravda Media," the official said. The analysis of the Pravda Media's donations was done as there were allegations of FCRA violations by the fact-checking portal Alt News. Pertinently, its co-founder Mohammed Zubair has been in police custody since June 27, Monday. Meanwhile, the Delhi Police has also invoked additional charges against Zubair, who is facing a trial in the Patiala House Court. The new charges are under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 201 (Causing disappearance of evidence) of Indian Penal Code(IPC) and sec. 35 of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act. The police have sought 14 days more custody of Zubair. During the course of the hearing, Atul Shrivastava, newly appointed as the Special Public Prosecutor for Delhi Police, argued that as per CDR analysis, Zubair has accepted funds through Razor gateway, from Pakistan, Syria which needs further investigation. (IANS)