FIR Against JNU Scholar Shehla Rashid for Tweet on Kashmiri Girls 'Trapped' in Dehradun Hostel

Dehradun: Shehla Rashid, a Jawaharlal Nehru University research scholar and activist, was booked by Dehradun Police on Monday for allegedly spreading rumours and fear on Twitter, in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack.

Amid reports of Kashmiri students being harassed and assaulted in parts of the country, Rashid in a tweet, 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 then registered an FIR against Rashid under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, for disturbing public tranquility, and intent to provoke breach of peace.

Rashid posted photographs of the FIR on Twitter and wrote, “The price you pay for seeking justice under a BJP government.”

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.

Several Kashmiri students here said they were in a state of fear after reports of alleged harassment of Kashmiris following the Pulwama terror attack, even as police asserted that security had been enhanced in the national capital and they would ensure the safety of all citizens.

According to media reports, several Kashmiris living outside J&K claimed they were harassed and attacked after the terrorist attack in Pulwama district in which 40 CRPF men were killed.

Some Kashmiri youths studying in Uttarakhand's Dehradun alleged that they were harassed and asked by their landlords to vacate accommodations fearing attacks on their properties in the aftermath of the attack.

A Kashmiri student studying in a Bengaluru college was Saturday arrested for allegedly hailing the Jaish terrorist while another from Dehradun was booked for allegedly sending WhatsApp messages supporting the Pulwama suicide attack.