Delhi LG gives sanction to prosecute Shehla Rashid for anti-Army tweets

Delhi LG Vinai Kumar Saxena has granted prosecution sanction against Shehla Rashid for allegedly spreading fake news about the Indian Army torturing people, promoting enmity between different groups and indulging in acts prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony.

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The sanction for the prosecution came based on the FIR filed by the Delhi Police in September 2019 based on the complaint filed by an advocate named Alakh Alok Srivastava. In her two posts on Twitter, Rashid claimed that Indian armed forces were entering and ransacking houses at night and picking up young boys in Kashmir. She also claimed that a mike was used to air the screams of four men who were being "interrogated" in an army camp in Shopian. This, she claimed, created an environment of fear in the area. 

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The Indian Army outrightly rejected the claims of the former JNU vice president and termed the Twitter posts as fake news. After this, the advocate lodged an FIR against Shehla Rashid.

The Home Department of the government of the national capital territory of Delhi observed that the issue becomes serious considering the location referred to in the Tweet, the nature of the case and false allegations against the Indian Army. 'Not every Tweet of the kind, in this case, needs to be processed under criminal law. However, a Tweet of this kind, in this case, needs to be processed against religious fault lines created in Jammu and Kashmir by the likes of Shehla Rashid. The case is made for prosecution under Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code,' the Home Department observed.

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• Shehla Rashid
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