Rakesh Handoo was taken into custody from his home in Faridabad on 17 October 2026 after police seized eight social‑media posts allegedly fabricated to appear as threats from the Soldiers of Resistance and United Liberation Council. Inspector General Sujit Kumar told NDTV that the evidence, including CDRs and witness statements, proved Handoo repeatedly circulated the threatening material, falsely naming Kashmiri Pandit employee Rohit Raina as the target. The letters were posted on X and sparked a three‑week administrative leave for several employees under the Prime Minister’s Special Employment Scheme, as the Valley’s security forces feared for their safety.
The attack on the employees came amid a history of terror incidents that killed five Kashmiri Pandits in 2022, prompting the government to relocate many displaced workers to safer towns in Srinagar.
Sanjay Saraf, a Lok Janshakti Party leader and Kashmiri Pandit activist, decried the arrest as “unfortunate” and called for a review, arguing that Handoo had long aided security forces during the 1990s. "He was arrested from his Faridabad residence. It’s not good for the community which has suffered due to terrorism, and now a community activist has been booked under cyber terrorism," Saraf said.
The case, charged under Sections 66F and 84C of the IT Act, remains under investigation; police have seized two mobile phones and the X account for forensic analysis. The Baramulla district court will hear the charges in a forthcoming hearing, while the investigation continues to gather technical reports.