Rakesh Handoo arrested in J&K cyberterrorism case over altered threat posts
Police say the Kashmiri Pandit activist doctored a militant-style threat and put a government-package employee's name on it, while his lawyer disputes the cyberterrorism charge.
Jammu and Kashmir police have arrested Kashmiri Pandit activist Rakesh Handoo, a Faridabad resident, in a cyberterrorism case. They allege he altered and repeatedly posted terror-related threat material on X. A court in Sopore police district remanded him to five days of police custody on Tuesday.
According to police, FIR No. 151/2026 was registered in Baramulla on Sept 17, 2026, on a complaint from a Kashmiri migrant employee working under the Prime Minister's Rehabilitation Package. Officers say the original material was attributed to a group calling itself Soldier of Resistance, United Liberation Council. They allege Handoo superimposed the complainant's name on it to make the person look like a target.
Police say he skipped three notices to join the investigation, so they obtained an arrest warrant. He was arrested on Oct 17, 2026. Officers say eight social media posts and related documents were seized, along with two mobile phones. X account details have been obtained for technical examination. Police say Sections 66F and 84C of the IT Act appear prima facie established, though Forensic Science Laboratory and technical reports are still awaited.
The defence is contesting the charge. Lawyer Aazim Ahmad Pandit said a bail plea was first filed before a magistrate because the team did not know the jurisdictional position. They then learned Section 66F had been invoked. That section covers cyberterrorism and falls under the NIA Act, so a designated court must hear bail. He argued police had escalated the matter and that it does not meet the legal test for cyberterrorism, adding that the alleged sharing happened on eight occasions.
The case sits against a tense backdrop. Threat letters aimed at Kashmiri Pandits surfaced online in August. Police tightened security in parts of the Valley where the community lives and let some package employees work from home for a time. The group Panun Kashmir had flagged a purported United Liberation Council letter that named several Pandits and listed their phone numbers.
Why it matters: the case tests where authorities draw the line between circulating or manipulating threat content online and the high bar of cyberterrorism law. It also shows how digital forensics, now awaited in this case, increasingly shapes security cases. Handoo, who contested the 2008 Assembly election against Farooq Abdullah from Hazratbal and lost, has not been convicted of anything, and the forensic findings will be key.
Source: Times of India
