The Jammu and Kashmir Police said three people from Kashmir based in US and Germany have been booked for allegedly “weaponising” social media platforms “to incite street violence, disrupt normal life, damage public property, disturb public order and fuel mass unrest”, and that the special NIA court in Srinagar has issued a proclamation directing them to appear before the court by end of January.
Counter Intelligence Kashmir (CIK), the intelligence wing of the J&K Police, said in a statement that Mubeen Ahmad Shah and Azizul Hassan Ashai, also known as Tony Ashai, both from Srinagar, and Rifat Wani from Kupwara, have been named in its FIR. Shah and Ashai and US-based and Rifat is based in Germany, officials said.
“Court of the Special Judge designated under the NIA Act, Srinagar, has issued a proclamation under Section 82 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, against accused persons,” the CIK statement said.
According to the statement, the case pertains to offences under sections 153-A & 505 of the IPC and section 13 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, registered on the basis of “credible intelligence inputs” revealing a “well-orchestrated conspiracy by unscrupulous anti-social and anti-national elements operating at the behest of secessionist forces” within and outside the Valley.
“Investigations have exposed that these elements were masquerading as news portals, journalists and freelancers, while in reality weaponising social media platforms such as Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and WhatsApp to create, upload and circulate fake, motivated, exaggerated, secessionist and out-of-context content,” CIK noted.
Police also said that the deliberate objective of this digital misinformation campaign was to “incite street violence, disrupt normal life, damage public property, disturb public order and fuel mass unrest, thereby promoting anti-national sentiments and advancing a secessionist agenda aimed at creating disaffection against the Union of India.”
Following the issuance of warrants of arrest, the accused persons, according to police, went underground and are absconding to evade the process of law. Taking note of their alleged evasion, the NIA court has now issued a proclamation directing the accused to appear before the court on or before January 31, 2026.
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“Despite being declared absconders, the accused are notorious for their continued hostile activities and remain highly active on social media platforms, where they persist in peddling false, fabricated and provocative content with the intention of inciting large-scale violence and destabilising public order in Jammu & Kashmir,” police said.
