New Delhi: Political activist Shehla Rashid has been booked for sedition over her comments about alleged human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Special Cell of the Delhi Police lodged an FIR against Rashid under Sections 124-A, 153A, 153, 504, 505 of the Indian Penal Code, for claiming on 18 August that the Indian Army was indiscriminately picking up men, raiding houses and torturing people in Jammu and Kashmir.
“The FIR was registered on Tuesday. Investigation is underway,” Special Cell DCP Manishi Chandra told the ThePrint.
The case was registered on 19 August based on a complaint received from Supreme Court lawyer Alakh Alok Srivastav, in which he sought Rashid’s arrest for spreading “fake news”.
A day earlier, Rashid had tweeted: “Armed forces are entering houses at night, picking up boys, ransacking houses, deliberately spilling rations on the floor, mixing oil with rice.”
10) In Shopian, 4 men were called into the Army camp and "interrogated" (tortured). A mic was kept close to them so that the entire area could hear them scream, and be terrorised. This created an environment of fear in the entire area.
— Shehla Rashid (@Shehla_Rashid) August 18, 2019
According to the FIR, Rashid “deliberately and intentionally tried to spread fake news with the intent to incite violence in the country, to malign the image our revered Indian Army nationally as well as internationally, to create unrest in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and in other parts of the country, to promote disharmony, enmity, hatred and ill-will between different groups…”
It also mentioned how Rashid’s tweet was shared by Twitter users on international platforms causing irreparable injury to the reputation of India.
ThePrint tried reaching Rashid for comment, but her mobile phone was switched off.
The allegations
The allegations had drawn a sharp reaction from the Indian Army. Rashid, however, had said she was ready to give the evidence when the Army constituted an inquiry.
“I have given you my statement. Has the Army initiated any inquiry?” she had said.
“All I have said is based on authentic conversations with people who have come from Kashmir and have absolutely no reason to lie. I have given a lot of statements, not just one. People are running out of LPG cylinders, cooking gas in Kashmir.”
Rashid, a former vice-president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union, had said if the Army initiated an inquiry, she would depose before it and “give them the particulars of the incidents… where they have happened”.
The Army, however, had said, “Allegations levelled by Shehla Rashid are baseless and rejected. Such unverified and fake news is spread by inimical elements and organisations to incite unsuspecting population.”
Jammu and Kashmir Congress leader Salman Nizami had also rejected her allegations, tweeting that “no such incident of Army torturing youth in open” had taken place.
Also read: Criminal complaint filed against Shehla Rashid for ‘spreading fake news’ against Indian Army
Whenever you see any such tweets /post/articles by Wire, BBC, Kavita Krishnan, Shehla Rashid, Tukde gang or Pakistanis abt Kashmir,remember only 1 thing? They all are Fake & Break India propagandists spreading hate,fear & Pak’s agenda. This is their
Bread & Butter!!
Something upside down:
1. Tell the authorities what you know. If they do nothing….
Then
2 Go on social media and appeal to the general public.
Here she first goes on Twitter then says I will face enquiry. Intention can only be to invite and to make oneself a martyr.
I’m glad she’s been charged. People need to be made accountable for what they speak in public
It is stupid to call this sedition. This maybe slanderous and she can be told to furnish proof if the army or court initiate an inquiry. Sedition should only be used when someone is calling for violence against the state. Ms.Rashid maybe spreading rumors but that is clearly not a call for violence. Surely, there are some sections of the penal code on spreading rumors that may disturb the peace or something.
Islamists Like Shehla Rashid & Tukde gang Are Working Overtime On Chinese/Paki Agenda With Fake News & Propaganda!! These People Should Be Behind Bars For 20 Years Or More!!
Very sorry to hear this.
However I was wondering why she has not been arrested earlier
The have arrested all moderate Kashmiris who swear allegiance to India,
This decision was not taken by the Delhi police, but by the powers that be meet daily on Kashmir, the home minister often chairs these meetings.
She may have been arrested because they are grooming her as a future leader from Kashmir, the arrest will give her some credibility.
The government already provides her with two constables as a personal protection.
In these troubled days one does not know who is the stooge.
Meanwhile the militants in the valley are providing the leadership of the Kashmiri people.
THERE ARE NO MILITANTS BUT SOME JIHADI ISLAMIC TERRORISTS IN KASHMIR!! THEY DESERVE ALLAH/JANNAT & WE’LL DO THESE EVIL PIGS THE FAVOR!!
A grave charge. If convicted, Ms Shehla Rashid could face life imprisonment. So the canons of justice would require extensive evidence to be led, scores of witnesses to be examined.
This is a primitive police force using a colonial law of sedition on behalf of a fascist state.
The whole thing has become a farce!
This Bharat of ours have become a tin pot banana republic.
The foundation of any democracy is the freedom of our speech.
This is Hindutva democracy, as envisioned by the RSS and its henchmen Modi and Shah, making it into a nightmare for free speech.
I watch from the sidelines with interest, as this great country of mine, with some wonderful people goes down the gutter.
Pity the nation, pity the people
PITY YOU BIGOT!!! YOU WEAR A BURKA AND ARE BLINDED BY YOUR FAKE & EVIL IDEOLOGY!!