UP: Folk singer Neha Rathore booked for ‘provocative’ social media posts

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh Police have lodged a case against prominent folk singer and poet Neha Singh Rathore, alleging that her social media posts in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terrorist attack sought to provoke communal disharmony and threaten national unity.

The complaint, filed by Abhay Pratap Singh at Hazratganj police station in Lucknow, claims that Rathore posted inflammatory remarks targeting a particular religious community from her official account on X (formerly Twitter), @nehafolksinger.

According to the complaint, Rathore’s comments, made at a time when the country was mourning, were intended to inflame religious sentiments and could potentially disturb public peace. Singh alleged that instead of uniting the nation in grief, Rathore’s statements sought to “pit one community against another,” endangering the country’s sovereignty and social cohesion.

In her post, Neha Singh Rathore stated: “Why this selective outrage? Are the lives of people from a particular faith less valuable? Hatred has no religion, but unfortunately, some are using religion to spread hatred openly. Justice for all innocent lives lost — not just slogans, but actions.”

he further added: “Silence in the face of hate crimes only deepens the divides. Selective empathy corrodes the foundations of unity. Every innocent life matters — beyond religion, beyond politics.”

Following the receipt of the complaint, the police registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Rathore under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Section 152, which penalises actions endangering the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India. She has also been booked under provisions related to promoting enmity between different groups based on religion and for disturbing public tranquillity.