Kashmiri Pandit Rakesh Handoo spreads ‘tailored terror threat’ online, faces charges under IT Act

The J&K Police has arrested Kashmiri Pandit activist Rakesh Handoo (59) and filed charges under the Information Technology (IT) Act on charges of “spreading a modified terrorist threat” against Kashmiri Pandits working in the Kashmir Valley.

Police officials said Mr. Handoo, currently a resident of Faridabad, Haryana, was arrested by a team from Baramulla on October 17 after “investigation established a prima facie offense of cyber terrorism”.

Officials said Mr. Handoo was zeroed out after an employee of Kashmir Pandit, whose name was on the “terrorist threat list”, registered a complaint with the police.

As well as the offence, police said Mr Handoo was behind the “intentional alteration and operation of electronic material”. “On his publicly accessible Twitter account, he repeatedly disseminated electronic threat-related material purporting to be from the Soldier of Resistance/United Liberation Council, which in its original form belonged to another person with a similar name,” the First Information Report (FIR) said.

Officials said the accused “falsely portrayed (the complainant) as the intended target by altering the original identifying information and its dissemination raised serious concerns for the complainant’s safety.

Officials said offenses under Sections 66F and 84C of the IT Act established a prima facie case against the accused. A forensic science laboratory and technical analysis was sought in the case. Eight social media posts and relevant documentary evidence were also secured, they added.

Mr. Handoo contested the 2008 assembly elections against National Conference President Farooq Abdullah from Srinagar’s Hazratbal constituency.

On behalf of the employees, Mr Handoo appealed to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) in August this year, demanding “an inquiry into how the personal data of employees of the Prime Minister’s Package in Kashmir was leaked”, saying “a credible threat cannot be taken lightly”.

An alleged terror threat letter sent ahead of Independence Day in August forced the government to take special security measures for Pandit employees. Dozens of local residents were also questioned after the threatening letter.

Published – 28 Oct 2026 00:00 IST