In fresh trouble for political activist Shehla Rashid, a fresh criminal complaint has been filed against her in Mumbai by a Bombay High Court lawyer Virendra Jabra. In a written complaint filed at the Santa Cruz police station, it is alleged that Rashid has made false allegations without any evidence with the intention to defame the reputation of the government.
The complainant further said that Rashid’s comments have defamed the Indian Army and her Twitter account should be immediately suspended. It also sought her arrest in the case. He asked the Mumbai police to file a ‘sedition case against her’.
Rashid, who had recently joined Shah Faesal’s Jammu and Kashmir People’s Movement political party, had posted a series of tweets in which she had said, “People are saying that Jammu and Kashmir Police has no authority on law and order situation. They have been rendered powerless. Everything is in the hands of paramilitary forces. One SHO was transferred on complaint of a CRPF man. SHOs carrying batons. Service revolvers can’t be seen on them.”
The Indian Army rejected her allegations regarding situation in Jammu and Kashmir and termed them “baseless”. “Allegations levelled by Shehla Rashid are baseless and rejected. Such unverified and fake news are spread by inimical elements and organisations to incite unsuspecting population,” the Army said in a statement.
Earlier, Supreme Court lawyer Alakh Alok Srivastava had filed a criminal complaint against Rashid, seeking her arrest for allegedly spreading fake news against Indian Army and the government. The complaint copy stated that Rashid is deliberately and intentionally spreading fake news with the intention to incite violence in Jammu and Kashmir and in other parts of the country.
The complainant further said that her tweets are being shared by many Twitter users on international platforms, causing irreparable injury to the reputation of India. It alleged that she has intended to excite disaffection towards the government, which is prima facie an offence of sedition under Section 124-A of IPC.
Following the controversy, the hashtag #ArrestShehlaRashid began trending on Twitter on Monday afternoon.
