New Delhi: Jailed parliamentarian Sheikh Abdul Rashid, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, has moved a city court seeking regular bail in a terror funding case.
Rashid is currently lodged in Tihar Jail
Rashid, who won from the Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency in the 2024 general elections, is currently lodged in Delhi’s Tihar Jail in judicial custody in an alleged 2017 Jammu and Kashmir terror funding case under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
Rashid won from Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency in 2024 general elections
Rashid, who contested the Lok Sabha elections while in judicial custody in Tihar Jail, won from the Baramulla parliamentary constituency defeating his nearest rival and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah.
Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Chander Jit Singh, hearing Rashid’s plea issued notice to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday and directed the central agency to file its response by August 28, news agency PTI reported.
Court earlier granted custody parole for two hours to Rashid to enable him to take oath as an MP
Rashid had earlier moved a court in the national capital seeking interim bail, or custody parole in the alternative, to take oath as a Member of Parliament (MP) and perform his parliamentary functions after he won the Baramulla Lok Sabha seat. The court had allowed custody parole to Rashid for two hours on July 5 to enable him to take oath as an MP on Rashid’s plea.
NIA has filed charge sheet in the terror funding case against several persons
Rashid is lodged in Tihar jail since 2019 after he was charged by the NIA under the provisions of UAPA in the alleged terror funding case.
The NIA had filed a charge sheet in the case against several persons, including Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik, Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed and Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin.
Kashmiri separatist leader Malik was awarded life imprisonment in 2022 by a trial court after he pleaded guilty to the charges. The NIA has moved the Delhi High Court challenged the trial court order and has sought death penalty for Malik in the terror funding case.
