JOIN USCase filed against online abusers of J&K girls' rock band
The Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Police have finally decided to take action against those who had posted abusive and threatening messages on Facebook against Kashmir’s all-girls rock band “Pragaash”, forcing the teenagers to disband on Monday.
The police have lodged an FIR under Section 66 A of the IT Act and Section 506 RPC (Criminal Intimidation) and identified at least 20 suspects. Police have also constituted a special investigation team (SIT) to solve the case.
Media centre in-charge of the J&K Police Manoj Pandita confirmed to Deccan Herald that the FIR has been registered in Rajbagh police station and that the matter is under investigation.
Under Section 66A of the IT Act, the accused can face three years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to a maximum of Rs 2 lakh or both.
A senior police officer said the cyber crime cell in Srinagar was able to track at least six IP addresses from where the hate messages had been posted on the band’s Facebook page.
“A Dy SP level officer is investigating the case and cyber experts have been called in. Around 20 suspects have been identified and the police are waiting for orders to arrest them,” he added.
The officer said that before making any arrests, the police want to make sure there is enough evidence. “The issue has already snowballed into a major controversy and the police don’t want to take any chances. Separatists have thrown their weight behind the suspects and under the circumstances we need to tread carefully,” the Dy SP revealed.
The three class 10 students, Noma Nazir-vocals and guitar, Farah Deeba on the drums and Aneeka Khalid-guitar, not only faced the hate campaign on social networking sites, but also a fatwa from the state backed Grand Mufti Bashiruddin Ahmad who denounced music as “un-Islamic”.
Security assured
Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had on Monday told a national news channel that the government would offer security for the band, “but that it is up to them to decide whether they want to play.”
However, on Tuesday, a relative of one of the girls told Deccan Herald that the band had called it quits. “We have to live in Kashmir. The chief minister’s tweets and the police cannot protect us. We don’t want to get caught in politics,” he said.
The chief minister had also said that the Grand Mufti is not appointed or paid by the government. When he was asked why no arrests were ordered, Omar said: “He (Grand Mufti) just told them to stop. If he had threatened the girls, then it would have been a different situation.”
On Tuesday, in a statement, one of the band members said: “Please leave us alone. We will not perform anymore. We have taken the decision as the Grand Mufti has banned us.
We respect him and his decision. We did not quit because of the opposition on Facebook. It is not justified, but all this cannot happen in Kashmir as it is against the ethics and morals, we cannot help it.”
The girl claimed that all rock bands in Kashmir have decided to disband in solidarity with them.