Shehla Rashid (PTI photo)

NEW DELHI: Delhi Police 's anti-terror unit has booked Jammu & Kashmir People's Movement party functionary Shehla Rashid for sedition in connection with her tweets allegedly spreading fake news about the situation in Kashmir.

The Indian Army had rebutted her tweets alleging torture of Kashmiris by security forces. Rashid is set to be questioned in the coming days and faces arrest if she can't provide evidence backing her claims, a senior police officer said on Friday.

Police have invoked Sections 124A (sedition), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language), 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of the IPC in the FIR, which was filed on September 3.

Rashid described the case against her as "frivolous", "politically motivated" and a "pathetic attempt" to silence her for speaking out on the clampdown in Kashmir.

Complainant says Shehla tried to incite violence

The case was registered on a complaint by a Supreme Court lawyer Alakh Alok Srivastav, who had submitted a compilation of her tweets and the subsequent denial by the Army.

Rashid had courted controversy with her claims that the armed forces "tortured" civilians and "ransacked" houses in the Valley after J&K's special status was revoked. In a series of tweets on August 17, Rashid had alleged that the armed forces entered houses in Kashmir at night and "ransacked" them.

She had also alleged that four men were called to an Army camp in Shopian and "interrogated (tortured)". She had claimed a mic was kept close to these men so that "the entire area could hear them scream, and be terrorised".

Later, Srivastav had filed a complaint with Delhi Police commissioner Amulya Patnaik, saying the allegations levelled by the former JNU student leader were "absolutely false and concocted". In his complaint, Srivastav had said Rashid's allegations were baseless as she had not produced any "voice recording" of the alleged torture or date and time of the incidents.

He also accused Rashid of "deliberately spreading fake news with the intention to incite violence in the country" and maligning the image of the Indian Army.

Her action is "prima facie an offence of sedition" since she intended to "excite disaffection towards the Government of India", Srivastav said in his complaint.

After Srivastav's complaint was received, it was handed over to Delhi Police's special cell for inquiry.

