Shehla Rashid booked for 'sedition' by Delhi Police

In trouble for Shehla Rashid, Delhi Police has registered a case of sedition against her for her tweets accusing Army of torture and other human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir following the scrapping of special status for Jammu and Kashmir.

The FIR, registered on Sept.3, against the leader of Jammu and Kashmir Peoples' Movement', came on August 19 on the basis of a complaint filed by lawyer Alakh Alok Srivastava, who alleged that her tweets on Army were "false, baseless and concocted, which were evident from the fact that she has not produced" any evidence.

The Delhi Police's Special Cell has invoked sections of Indian Penal Code related to sedition (124A), provocation for rioting (153), promoting enmity between communities (153A), intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace (504) and public mischief (505).

In a series of tweets on August 18, she had claimed that Army personnel were "entering house at night, picking up boys, ransacking houses, deliberately spilling rations on the floor, mixing oil with rice etc".

She also claimed that four men were called into the Army camp in Shopian and "interrogated (tortured). A mic was kept close to them so that the entire area could hear the scream, and be terrorised. This created an environment of fear in the entire area".

Soon after, the army denied the allegations and said they were "baseless and rejected. Such unverified and fake news are spread by inimical elements and organisations to incite unsuspecting population".

Quoting the lawyer's complaint, the FIR has said that her tweets were retweeted on "international platforms, causing irreparable injury and reputation of India".

In a statement, Shehla described the FIR as “a frivolous, politically motivated and pathetic attempt to silence” her. She said she had clearly mentioned that her tweets were based on information received from people.

“In a situation where reporters are not allowed to report, media, social media, telephonic and postal communication is gagged, it is important to put out narratives of the people so that people in the rest of India know what is happening there. As a political activist I am just doing my job,” she said.

“In the twitter thread for which I am being targeted, I have highlighted the positive work of the administration in ensuring facilities to the people. That itself is proof enough that I have no motive except to shine light on the truth, which is corroborated by several media reports,” she added.

Shehla was the face of students' protest when students of Jawaharlal Nehru University, including then Students' Union president Kanhaiya Kumar, were charged with sedition following a protest on the anniversary of the hanging of Parliament attack case convict Afzal Guru.

As her tweets created a storm, Shehla tweeted on August 19, "all of my tweets are based on conversations with people. My thread highlights the positive work of the administration too. Let the Army conduct a fair and impartial probe and I'm willing to share the details of the incidents mentioned with them."

Soon after the lawyer filed the complaint with police, Shehla had tweeted, "isn't it cute that right-wing threaten you with lawsuits, while having suspended every law and every last remaining shred of the rule of law in Kashmir? Right now, Kashmir is the only place on Earth where no law exists! Only the law of the jungle."