Srinagar MP, ex-mayor booked for circulating false content on social media

Srinagar, Mar 3 (PTI) National Conference MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi and former Srinagar Mayor Junaid Azim Mattu were booked on Tuesday for allegedly circulating misleading content on social media platforms.

"Acting on credible inputs regarding the circulation of false, fabricated and misleading content across digital and social media platforms with the intent to create fear, disturb public order and incite unlawful activities, Srinagar Police has registered cases against Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi and Junaid Azim Mattu," police said on X.

It said the content in question, prima facie, reflects the dissemination of distorted narratives and unverified information capable of causing public unrest and societal disharmony.

"Such deliberate attempts to spread misinformation pose a serious threat to peace, security and overall stability. Accordingly, FIR No 02/2026 and FIR No 03/2026 have been registered under Sections 197(1)(d) and 353(1)(b) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at Cyber Police Station, Srinagar," police said.

They said an investigation has been initiated into both cases.

Police also advised the citizens to verify information through official and credible sources before sharing content online and to refrain from circulating unverified material that may disturb communal harmony or public order.

In posts on X, Mehdi and Mattu had claimed that their security has been downgraded.

Mehdi, the Lok Sabha MP from Srinagar, said that he is neither fascinated by "these petty things" nor scared by the absence of security personnel around him.

He said that as a citizen of this country, he will exercise his rights "to stand up against your atrocities, violation of laws, freedom and democracy given to us by the constitution, to the last drop of my blood".

"Some fools in Jammu and Kashmir Police and administration think that by withdrawing/downgrading my security detail and suspending my Facebook account will stop me from calling out their atrocities. It is laughable!" the NC leader said on X.

Former Mayor Mattu also claimed that his security was withdrawn over his statements on Iran and the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the joint US-Israel air strike.

"For my statements on Iran and Ayatollah Syed Ali Khamenei's martyrdom, and for speaking against the BJP-led government's moral abdication and deafening silence on the issue of the illegitimate barbaric onslaught on Iran by the US and Israel -- my security has just been effectively withdrawn with immediate effect. A measure aimed to silence me," Mattu said on X. PTI MIJ RUK RUK