Delhi LG grants sanction to prosecute Shehla Rashid for tweets against Indian Army

New Delhi, Jan 10: Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena has granted sanction to prosecute former JNU Students' Union vice president Shehla Rashid Shora for her tweets on the Indian Army, officials said today.

According to officials at the Lt Governor's office, the sanction is related to a 2019 FIR against her, under IPC section 153A, registered at Special Cell police station in New Delhi, on the basis of a complaint by one Alakh Alok Srivastava.

The former JNU Students' Union leader is accused of promoting enmity between different groups and indulging in acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony through her tweets, they said, according to news agency PTI.

"Armed Forces are entering houses at night, picking up boys, ransacking houses, deliberately spilling rations on floor, mixing oil with rice, etc," she had said in a tweet.
In another tweet, she said, 'in Shopian, 04 men were called into the Army Camp and 'interrogated' (tortured). A mic was kept close to them so that the entire area could hear them scream and be terrorized. This created an environment of fear in the entire area.'

"Delhi LG VK Saxena grants prosecution sanction against Shehla Rashid, ex-Vice President of JNUSU & member of AISA, for making 2 tweets about the Indian Army aimed at promoting enmity between different groups & indulging in acts prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony," the Delhi LG's office said a statement.

The proposal for the prosecution sanction was moved by the Delhi Police and supported by Home Department of the Delhi government, the Lt Governor's office said.

The tweets, dated August 18, 2019, had accused the Army of entering houses and "torturing" locals in Kashmir. The allegations were rejected by the Army as baseless.