After the Indian army rejected Jammu and Kashmir People's Movement leader Shehla Rashid's twitter thread about the current state of affairs at Kashmir, the hashtag #ArrestShehlaRashid has begun to trend on the social networking site. The former JNU leader had posted on Twitter about how the J&K police has no authority on law and order situation and that everything is in the hands of paramilitary forces.
Rashid had also given other updates on the situation including the movement in Srinagar, cooking gas shortage, food supplies, communication blackouts and TV subscriptions. In the twitter thread, Rashid had said the following —" Movement within Srinagar and to neighbouring districts is more or less permitted. Local press is restricted. Cooking gas shortage has set in, gas agencies are closed. Petrol and diesel available in some places, supplies available but baby food difficult to find and people have started running out of medicines now."
She also went on to talk about people missing out on interview notifications because of the communication blackout. "I've personally sent people to the homes of some candidates whose interview notices have arrived. Their friends can't download it for them, because that requires an OTP that comes via text," she added. She also said so far those who had satellite TV could watch the news but D2H subscriptions were expiring and the only way to recharge is from outside the state.
She then went on to say that the Jammu and Kashmir police has no sense of authority on the law and order situation in the region, "They've been rendered powerless. Everything is in the hands of paramilitary forces."
"Armed forces are entering houses at night, picking up boys, ransacking houses, deliberately spilling rations on the floor, mixing oil with rice etc. In Shopian, four men were called into the army camp and interrogated (tortured) them. A mic was kept close to them so that the entire area could hear them scream and be terrorised. This created an environment of fear in the entire area," she had written on Twitter.
In response, the Indian Army released a statement saying that all the allegations are baseless and rejected. "Such unverified and fake news is spread by inimical elements and organisations to incite unsuspecting population," they said.
Following this statement, people took to Twitter to condemn Rashid and began to demand that she be arrested. A Delhi High Court lawyer also filed a sedition complaint against the former student leader claiming that she was spreading 'fake news'. The complainant accused Rashid of intending to excite disaffection towards the government; which' is prima facie an offence of sedition under Section 124-A of IPC'.
In response to the controversy, Rashid wrote on Twitter that she stands by her post and if she does get arrested that she wants everyone to share what she had written. "All of my tweets are based on conversations with people. My thread highlights the positive work of the administration too. Let the Army conduct a fair and impartial probe and I'm willing to share the details of the incidents mentioned with them," she said.
"I am an ordinary Kashmiri. In these times, getting merely arrested is a privilege. A 65-year-old man in Srinagar died because he choked on pepper gas being used by the police. A 17 yr old boy was the first documented victim of the current crisis. What is an arrest compared to it?" she questioned.
Within a few hours of her post, #ArrestShehlaRashid began to trend at No 3 on Twitter. While some called her a separatist, others called her a 'Pak Sleeper Cell', Pakistani terrorist and an ISI agent among other things. She also did receive some support as well for being courageous.
