Kashmir all-girl band: Police file FIR against online abusers

Two days after Kashmir’s first all girl rock band decided to quit following a fatwa as well as online threats of rape and murder, the Jammu and Kashmir state police have filed an FIR based on abusive online comments. “A case under Section 66 A of the IT Act and Section 506 RPC (criminal intimidation) has been registered at the Rajbagh police station with regard to the hate messages posted on the Facebook page of the Pragaash band,” a police spokesman said on Tuesday. He said the investigations are in full swing but refused to give any details. However, an official associated with the investigation said police have been able to identify at least six persons who had posted hate messages with the help of experts from the cyber crime cell. “So far half a dozen Facebook users who had posted hate messages have been identified while efforts are on to identify the others,” the official said on the condition of anonymity. He said the Facebook page of the band had received a large number of posts – mostly critical – and it would take some time to sift through all of them. “Arrests are likely to be made in the next couple of days,” he added. Online threats and abuses from extremists included ones suggesting that the teenage girls should be raped and then drowned. One such message read, “Post this status in advance. The three band girls raped in Jammu and thrown in river.” Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah came out in support of the girls on Sunday saying police will probe the threats. “I hope these talented young girls will not let a handful of morons silence them,” he said. With PTI inputs