Dehradun: Law seems to have caught up with Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Shehla Rashid, who was found peddling fake news and spreading fear among the minorities. Home ministry sources suggest that a first information report (FIR) has been registered against Rashid under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in Uttarakhand.

Reliable sources in the government told MyNation that the complaint was registered against her for resorting to rumour-mongering about Kashmiri students being trapped in a college hostel in Dehradun with a mob baying for blood outside. She gave the impression of anti-Kashmiri sentiment running high in the hill town in the wake of the Pulwama terrorist attack that killed at least 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans. 

MyNation contacted Dehradun's Senior Superintendent of Police, Nivedita Kukreti, who confirmed that a police case has been lodged against Rashid. 

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Sources also suggest that Rashid may be called for questioning and asked to explain what evidence she had to tweet about the Kashmiri girls being trapped that led to chaos and confusion and spread panic among the minority sections of the society. 

On Saturday evening, a mischievous message was circulated by Rashid on social media which said that about 15-20 Kashmiri girls were "trapped" in a hostel at the Dolphin College in Dehradun with a mob waiting outside. The message was widely shared, but the Uttarakhand Police were quick to clear the air.

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In her tweet Rashid alleged, “15-20 Kashmiri girls trapped in a hostel in Dehradun for hours now, as an angry mob outside demands that they be expelled from the hostels. This is in Dolphin institute. Police is present but unable to disperse the mob (sic).”

Twitter erupted in horror and many of her followers started tagging law enforcing machineries, presuming the information to be true, given the specifics that were given. But Uttarakhand Police found the claim to be false and tweeted a detailed statement with the words "Don’t Spread Rumours".