Shehla Rashid, a former student leader of Jawaharlal Nehru University and pro-Pakistan activist, was booked by Dehradun Police on Monday for allegedly spreading rumours and fear on Twitter, in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack. Prem Nagar Police Station has registered an FIR against Rashid under sections 505, 153, and 504 of the Indian Penal Code for disturbing public tranquility and trying to disrupt peace.
In a series of tweets, she had alleged that there were attacks on Kashmiri students living in Uttarakhand and other parts of north India. Rashid in a tweet, had said, 15 to 20 Kashmiri women students were “trapped” in a Dehradun hostel, while a mob of angry people standing outside demanded their expulsion. She added, the police was present at the spot, but was “unable to disperse the mob”.
However, the Uttarakhand Police dispelled all “rumours” in a tweet on Sunday, clarifying that the Kashmiris were not trapped in a hostel. The Dehradun Police alleged the former JNU student union leader tried creating panic among masses with her tweet. “In her tweet, Rashid claimed that Kashmiri girls were ‘trapped’ for hours and mobs outside were ‘baying for their blood’ both of which were factually incorrect and aimed at disturbing peace in the area,” the Senior Superintendent of Police Nivedita Kukreti was quoted as saying by The Times of India.