Allahabad HC refuses to quash case against singer Neha Singh Rathore for posts about Pahalgam attack

The Allahabad High Court has rejected a petition filed by Bhojpuri singer Neha Singh Rathore seeking the quashing of a first information report against her social media posts about the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22, Bar and Bench reported on Sunday.

In an order on Friday, a bench of Justices Rajesh Singh Chauhan and Syed Qamar Hasan Rizvi said that Rathore had used Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s name in a derogatory manner in her posts.

The allegations against her prima facie disclose cognisable offence, which justified an investigation by the police, the court said. It also said that the timing of her posts was worth considering as it came immediately after the Pahalgam attack.

The bench asked Rathore to appear before the investigating officer in the matter on September 26.

It also directed her to cooperate with the investigation till the police filed its report.

The terror attack at Baisaran near the town of Pahalgam on April 22 left 26 persons dead and 17 injured. The terrorists targeted tourists after asking their names to ascertain their religion, the police said. All but three of those killed were Hindu.

In late April, Rathore was booked for a video posted on social media in which she said that the terrorist attack was an intelligence and security failure on...

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