Special cell examines complaint filed against Shehla Rashid for controversial tweets on Kashmir

Delhi Police's Special Cell is looking into a complaint filed against Jammu and Kashmir People's Movement leader Shehla Rashid by a Supreme Court lawyer accusing her of "spreading fake news with the intention to malign the image of Indian Army".

In his complaint to Delhi police commissioner Amulya Patnaik on Monday, Alakh Alok Srivastava said the allegations made by the former JNU student leader in her tweets on Kashmir are "absolutely false and concocted",

Rashid had, in her tweets, alleged that Army personnel "ransacked" houses and that four men were "interrogated (tortured)" in Shopian .

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 شہلا رشید (@Shehla_Rashid) August 18, 2019

Srivastava said the allegations made by the former JNU student leader are baseless as she has not produced any "voice recording" of the alleged torture or "name, date, time" of the incidents.

He accused Rashid of "deliberately and intentionally spreading fake news with the intention to incite violence in the country" and maligning the image of Indian Army. He said her action is "prima facie an offence of sedition" since she had intended to "excite disaffection towards the Government of India".

The police said the matter is being examined. "The complaint has been received and it has been marked to Special Cell which is examining the complaint," said a senior police officer.

Hashtags like #ArrestShehlaRashid and #ShehlaRashid were trending on Twitter on Monday.

Reacting to the controversy, Rashid demanded a "fair and impartial" probe in the matter.

My reaction to the controversy:

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.

— Shehla Rashid شہلا رشید (@Shehla_Rashid) August 19, 2019

"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," Rashid wrote on Twitter.