Engineer Rashid, the MP from Kashmir’s Baramulla, has been granted interim bail for 23 days on Tuesday by a Delhi court. This will only be the second time since the independent leader walked out of jail to take oath as an MP in June.
Sheikh Abdul Rashid, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, defeated former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in Baramulla.
Additional Sessions Judge Chander Jit Singh granted the relief to Rashid, who had moved the court seeking interim bail to campaign in the upcoming Jammu & Kashmir assembly elections. The interim bail has been granted till October 2.
Why was Engineer Rashid in jail?
Lodged in Delhi’s Tihar Jail since 2019, Engineer Rashid is embroiled in a terror funding case and was arrested by the National Investigation Agency under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in 2017.
Rashid has been accused of collaborating with Pakistani operatives and separatists involved in inciting hateful narratives against India in Kashmir.
Rashid’s name cropped up in the case during the investigation of Kashmiri businessman Zahoor Watali, who was arrested by the NIA for allegedly funding terrorist groups and separatists in the Kashmir valley.
The NIA had filed a charge sheet against several people, including Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik, Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed and Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin, in the case.
Rashid’s brother to make poll debut
Rashid has been granted interim bail at a time when Jammu and Kashmir is gearing up for Assembly Elections, the first since the abrogation of Article 370.
Meanwhile, his brother Khurshid Ahmad Sheikh has been fielded as the candidate of the Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) from Kashmir’s Langate.
With inputs from PTI
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Baramulla MP Engineer Rashid gets interim bail ahead of J&K polls
