Shehla booked for sedition for J-K posts

New Delhi: Politician and activist Shehla Rashid has been booked for sedition over her comments about alleged human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir.

Special cell of the Delhi Police has lodged a case against Shehla Rashid for her remarks on the ground situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

The FIR against Shehla Rashid has been registered under Sections 124A (sedition), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion), 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intention to cause riot), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), 505 (spreading rumours) of the Indian Penal Code for her remarks on the ground situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

In a series of tweets, Shehla Rashid had claimed that the Indian Army was indiscriminately picking up men, raiding houses and torturing people in Jammu and Kashmir.

Shehla Rashid had claimed that human rights abuses were being carried out in Kashmir to serve the agenda of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

The allegations had drawn sharp reactions. Shehla Rashid, however, had said she was ready to give the evidence when the Indian Army constitutes an inquiry. Shehla Rashid described the sedition case filed against her as "frivolous", "politically motivated" and a "pathetic attempt" to silence her.

"I am a petitioner in the constitutional challenge to the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution and our petition in the SC makes a very strong case for the restoration of the same.

In my tweets, I have clearly mentioned that these are based on information received from people in the state," she said.

In a situation where reporters were not allowed to report, the media, social media, telephonic and postal communication were gagged, it was important to put out the narratives of the people, so that those living in the other parts of the country got to know what was happening in Jammu and Kashmir, Rashid added.