MP Rashid back in Tihar jail, order on regular bail deferred till Nov 13

Baramulla Lok Sabha MP and and Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) president Sheikh Abdul Rashid, commonly known as ‘Engineer Rashid’, surrendered to Tihar authorities on Monday after his interim bail expired and a Delhi court reserved its order on his regular bail over jurisdictional concerns.

Rashid, who was arrested in a terror funding case, was granted interim bail on September 10. Additional Sessions Judge Chander Jit Singh granted the interim relief to Rashid to enable him to campaign for the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections while deferring the order on his regular bail plea.

The judge was scheduled to pass the order on his regular bail plea on Monday but he adjourned the matter. Reserving the order, the judge underscored that he would first consider the issue of jurisdiction and whether or not to transfer the case to a special court meant to try lawmakers, considering Rashid was now an MP.

“Since we are considering the jurisdiction issue whether the matter will be heard by this court or the designated MP/MLA court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), keep it (bail order) post that,” the court said.

Previously, Rashid’s interim bail had been extended until October 28 due to his father’s poor health, a request that was not opposed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) after document verification.

AIP chief spokesperson Inam Un Nabi said on Monday that the court will now review the jurisdiction matter on November 13.

“Patiala House Court, New Delhi, has again deferred the orders in his regular bail application. In compliance to the earlier orders in the interim bail application, Er Rashid surrendered before Tihar Jail authorities earlier this morning,” Nabi said on X.

Accompanied by his party leaders and son, Rashid travelled from Srinagar to New Delhi on Monday morning.

During the Lok Sabha polls, Engineer Rashid had emerged as a ‘giant killer’, when he defeated NC vice-chief Omar Abdullah and People Conference chief Sajad Lone from the Baramulla Lok Sabha seat, while being lodged in Tihar jail.

When Rashid was released last month before the Assembly elections, the AIP had claimed that it would change the dynamics of Kashmir politics. However, his campaign failed to strike a chord with public and AIP won only a single seat in the Valley. The opponents accused Rashid of being a BJP proxy, stating that he had been released from jail to divide anti-BJP votes. Rashid, however, denied the charge.

For the past many weeks, Rashid conducted a massive outreach programme and visited several areas of his constituency.

Meanwhile, before entering the prison complex, the MP told mediapersons, “The solution to every problem is talks. If India wants to become ‘Vishwaguru’ by 2047, they need to talk. We request Pakistan too, to stop the killings and come for talks. The only way of resolving an issue is to talk.”

“For the people of Kashmir, I want to say that wherever I stay, my heart will always be with them. I am ready to be sacrificed for the people of my Kashmir. We are peace-loving people,” Rashid said.

The AIP leader has been in Tihar Jail since 2019 following his arrest by the NIA under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in connection with the 2017 terror funding case.