New Delhi:

Jammu and Kashmir MP Engineer Rashid on Monday moved a Delhi court seeking interim bail in a terror-funding case to attend the Parliament session.

After Rashid urged Principal District and Sessions Judge Vimal Kumar Yadav to grant him the reprieve, the court asked the National Investigation Agency to file a response by November 27.

Engineer Rashid, appearing virtually in court from Tihar Jail, said, “I have been elected by my people. I was not allowed to attend the last session. With folded hands I request you that I may be granted interim bail.” During the proceedings, the counsel for Rashid and the NIA jointly sought the matter to remain in the court hearing it and not transfer it to another court.

The court would further hear both sides on November 27. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Srinagar:

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Monday said Lok Sabha member Sheikh Abdul Rashid’s suggestion for delaying government formation till restoration of statehood was playing into the hands of the BJP who wants the Central rule in Jammu and Kashmir to be extended.

“The man goes to Delhi for 24 hours and comes back to play straight into the hands of the BJP. The BJP would like nothing more than to extend central rule in J-K if they aren’t in a position to form a government,” Abdullah posted on X.

He was reacting to Rashid’s appeal to all non-BJP parties to delay government formation as a tactic to put pressure on the Centre for restoration of statehood.

On National Conference president Farooq Abdullah’s statement that NC will take PDP support if needed, Omar Abdullah said it was all premature speculation.

“They haven’t extended support, they haven’t offered support and we don’t know what the voters have decided yet, so I really wish we could put a lid on all this premature speculation for the next 24 hours,” the NC vice president said in another post on X. 

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Srinagar:

The campaign vehicle of Baramulla MP Engineer Rashid was attacked Sunday by an assailant who stomped on the bonnet and the front windshield, damaging the glass.

Sheikh Abdul Rashid (57), popularly known as Engineer Rashid, who was in the car when the incident happened was unhurt.

The car was attacked in the Langate area of Kupwara district on the last day of electioneering in north Kashmir.

A video of the attack which appeared on social media showed a man climbing and stomping on the bonnet and the front windshield of the vehicle.

Rashid’s Awami Ittehad Party has not commented on the incident so far.

According to sources, the assailant is a former aide of the Member of Parliament and was instrumental in his Lok Sabha election campaign in April-May, but has fallen out with him since.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Jammu and Kashmir MP Sheikh Abdullah Rashid, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, has been granted bail to campaign for the assembly election in the Union Territory. Engineer Rashid had been in a jail in Delhi since 2019 in connection with a terror-funding case, from where he was released today.

He was granted bail by a Delhi court today. His  Awami Ittehad Party is among the several local parties in fray for the three-phase assembly elections that will begin next month.

Engineer Rashid had contested in the general elections held earlier this year from jail and beat former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to win the Baramulla seat.

Now, Mr Abdullah and Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti have both spoken out against him, linking him to the BJP.

While Mr Abdullah has been circumspect, saying the BJP is planning to strike a deal with Independents and smaller political outfits after the election, Ms Mufti has directly accused the Awami Ittehad Party of being a BJP proxy.

Ms Mufti said while Mr Rashid’s victory from jail is understandable, it is unclear is how he is funding his party and bringing it to prominence with multiple candidates in this election. It had taken her father – former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed — around 5o years to do so, she had pointed out

Srinagar:

Leaders of Jammu and Kashmir’s two key political parties – Omar Abdullah and now Mehbooba Mufi – have targeted the growing number of Independent candidates in the coming assembly elections in the Union Territory. While Mr Abdullah has said the BJP is planning to strike a deal with Independents and smaller political outfits after the election, Ms Mufti said today that jailed MP Sheikh Abdul Rashid’s Awami Ittehad Party is a proxy of the BJP.

Engineer Rashid, as Sheikh Rashid is popularly known,  had contested in the general elections held earlier this year from jail and beat Omar Abdullah to win the Baramulla seat. Ms Mufti said while his victory is understandable, what is unclear is how he is funding his party and bringing it to prominence with multiple candidates in this election.

“Rashid is in jail. (PDP founder) Mufti (Mohammad Sayeed) took 50 years to form the party, we still do not have resources to field candidates everywhere. Who is behind his (Engineer’s) organisation so their candidates are fielded everywhere? From where is the funding coming? From where are they getting such courage to engage in hooliganism?” she said a day after a PDP candidate was injured in an attack, allegedly by the workers of the Awami Ittehad Party.

“I want to ask the government — if you have again come up a proxy party, Engineer Rashid’s party, when all your other proxy parties have failed, you have brought Engineer Rashid’s party to the fore, and you are supporting them fully with funds and everything, then tell us clearly that others parties do not have to contest elections,” she said.

Yesterday, Mr Abdullah had said the BJP is keeping its doors open for post-poll alliance with parties such as People’s Conference and Awami Ittehad Party.

Jammu and Kashmir has seen an unprecedented spike in the number of Independent candidates in this election. For the first two phases, 145 candidates – 44 per cent of the total – are in fray.

Part of the reason is that these Independents are members of smaller political outfits not recognised by the Election Commission, although a few of them are registered outside Jammu and Kashmir. So the members of these parties are contesting as Independents.

Mehbooba Mufti said the people should not be influenced by these “proxy’ parties. “There is a huge power behind them who wants to divide the vote in Kashmir… They want to harm the cause of J&K,” said the former Chief Minister, who has said that she would not contest as long as J&K remains a Union Territory and its special status is not restored.

Elections will be held in the 90-member Jammu and Kashmir Assembly after a decade on September 18, September 25 and October 1. The counting of votes will take place on October 8.

New Delhi:

Jailed radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh and Kashmiri leader Sheikh Abdul Rashid, who were granted parole to take oath as members of the Lok Sabha, were sworn in as MPs on Friday amid heavy deployment of security personnel in and around the Parliament complex.

While Rashid, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, was in Delhi’s Tihar jail in a terror funding case registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Singh was lodged in a prison in Assam’s Dibrugarh district for offences under the National Security Act.

They were brought to the Parliament complex by security personnel this morning.

The MPs-elect took oath in the chamber of the Lok Sabha Speaker after completing formalities, a source said.

Singh, 31, and Rashid, 56, won the recent Lok Sabha elections from Khadoor Sahib in Punjab and Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir, respectively, as Independents while being incarcerated.

They could not take oath as members of the 18th Lok Sabha on June 24 and 25 along with the other winning candidates.

For taking oath, Rashid was granted a two-hour custody parole, excluding the travel time from Tihar to Parliament, and Singh a four-day custody parole, beginning July 5, in view of the travel from Assam to Delhi and back.

Their parole orders stated that during their period of temporary release, they can neither speak to or address the media on any issue or make any statements. Their family members also cannot make a statement in any form of media.

While Singh, a Khalistani sympathiser who heads the ‘Waris Punjab De’ outfit, has been allowed to meet his family in Delhi, Rashid’s family had permission only to attend his oath-taking. The parole for Rashid, who has been in jail since 2019 after his arrest in 2017, was granted by a court in Delhi and that of Singh by the district magistrate of Amritsar from where he was arrested in April 2023 for barging into a police station in February and clashing with police personnel in a bid to free one of his aides from custody.

Both Singh and Rashid are to be accompanied by security personnel at all times during their parole periods, the orders stated.

The Delhi Police and Punjab Police were directed to coordinate with the secretary general of the Lok Sabha for procedures inside the Parliament complex.

The name of Rashid, a former MLA, cropped up during the investigation of Kashmiri businessman Zahoor Watali, who the NIA had arrested for allegedly funding terrorist groups and separatists in the Kashmir valley.

The NIA had filed a charge sheet against several individuals, including Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik, Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed and Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin in the case. Malik was awarded life imprisonment by a trial court in 2022 after he pleaded guilty to the charges. Singh styled himself after Khalistani terrorist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and is in jail along with nine of his associates under the National Security Act. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi/ Chandigarh:

Jailed radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh and Kashmiri leader Sheikh Abdul Rashid are set to take oath as Lok Sabha members on Friday, subject to some conditions in their parole orders.

While Rashid, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, is in Delhi’s Tihar jail in a terror funding case registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Singh is lodged in a prison in Assam’s Dibrugarh district for offences under the National Security Act.

Singh, 31, and Rashid, 56, won the recent Lok Sabha elections from Khadoor Sahib in Punjab and Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir, respectively, as Independents while being incarcerated.

They could not take oath as members of the 18th Lok Sabha on June 24 and 25 along with the other winning candidates.

For taking oath, Rashid has been granted a two-hour custody parole, excluding the travel time from Tihar to Parliament, and Singh a four-day custody parole, beginning July 5, as he will be flown in from Assam to Delhi and back. During their parole periods, they can neither speak to or address the media on any issue or make any statements. Their family members also cannot make a statement in any form of media, according to their respective orders.

While Singh, a Khalistani sympathiser who heads the ‘Waris Punjab De’ outfit, has been allowed to meet his family in Delhi, Rashid’s family can only attend his oath taking. The parole for Rashid, who has been in jail since 2019 after his arrest in 2017, was granted by a court in Delhi and that of Singh by the district magistrate of Amritsar from where he was arrested in April 2023 for barging into a police station in February and clashing with police personnel in a bid to free one of his aides from custody.

Both Singh and Rashid accompanied by security personnel at all times during their parole periods.

Singh will “not enter the territorial jurisdiction of any place other than New Delhi during the period of temporary release”, his parole order stated.

“Amritpal Singh or any of his relatives shall not be permitted to videograph any statement of Amritpal and/or circulate any such statement in any electronic form,” according to the order.

He will also “refrain from doing any action or making any statement that is prejudicial to national security”, it stated .

“The relatives of Amritpal, as defined under Section 2 (c) of the Punjab Detenue (Condition of Detention) Order, 1981, shall be allowed to meet him during the period he is housed in New Delhi,” the order for Singh stated.

The Delhi Police and Punjab Police have been directed to coordinate with the secretary general of the Lok Sabha for procedures inside the Parliament complex.

The name of Rashid, a former MLA, cropped up during the investigation of Kashmiri businessman Zahoor Watali, who the NIA had arrested for allegedly funding terrorist groups and separatists in the Kashmir valley.

The NIA had filed a charge sheet against several individuals, including Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik, Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed and Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin in the case. Malik was awarded life imprisonment by a trial court in 2022 after he pleaded guilty to the charges. Singh styled himself after slain Khalistani terrorist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and is in jail along with nine of his associates under the National Security Act.

Besides them, TMC’s Shatrughan Sinha is also yet to be sworn in as member of the Lower of House of Parliament.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Abdul Rashid Sheikh could not take oath as a member of the 18th Lok Sabha on Monday despite his name being called as he is lodged in jail since 2019 after being charged by the NIA in a terror-funding case.

Rashid, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, defeated former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah to win the parliamentary polls from the Baramulla seat as an Independent candidate.

He is currently lodged in Tihar jail.

A Delhi court on Saturday asked the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to respond by July 1 to an application filed by Rashid, seeking interim bail to take oath as an MP.

Additional Sessions Judge Kiran Gupta fixed the matter for hearing on July 1 and directed the NIA to file its reply by then. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Srinagar:

With the jailed Engineer Rashid entering the Lok Sabha poll fray in Kashmir, it was time for former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad to return the favour for a Rajya Sabha election vote in 2015.

Mr Azad’s outfit in Jammu and Kashmir – the Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) – on Thursday announced its support for Rashid, who is contesting as an Independent candidate from the Baramulla Lok Sabha seat in North Kashmir.

Arrested in 2019 in a terror funding case, Abdul Rashid Sheikh – popularly known as Engineer Rashid – heads the regional Awami Ittehad Party and had voted for Mr Azad during the 2015 Rajya Sabha elections. He was an MLA from the Lagate assembly seat in the erstwhile state.

Mr Rashid filed his nomination from Tihar Jail to contest from Baramulla, which goes to the polls on May 20.

“Engineer Rashid is innocent and people want him out of jail. He has always fought for the people’s cause. So, this is injustice,” said Taj Mohiuddin, the party’s treasurer and its North Kashmir in-charge, while announcing the decision.

Mr Mohiuddin said the decision was taken after the jailed leader’s son, Abrar Rashid, made an appeal to Mr Azad, seeking support for his father’s candidature.

“Engineer Rashid has consistently fought for the people. Therefore, we feel it’s important to stand by someone who has made sacrifices,” he added.

Mr Rashid, who contested the 2014 assembly elections as an Independent candidate from Langate in North Kashmir, is in jail in a terror-funding case.

The case, the chargesheet for which has since been filed, names Hafiz Saeed, chief of the banned Jamaat-ud-Dawa – a front for the Lashkar-e-Taiba terror outfit – as an accused.

The former MLA was also named by Syed Naveed Mushtaq Ahmad alias Naveed alias Babu, a commander of the banned Hizb-ul-Mujahideen.

Naveed was arrested along with Davinder Singh, who was dismissed as deputy superintendent of the Jammu and Kashmir Police.

Naveed claimed during interrogation that he had been in constant touch with the former legislator for establishing a firm base for the terror group in North Kashmir and was looking for possible hideouts in that area, officials alleged.

Rashid was first the mainstream politician to be arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with a case related to the funding of terror activities in Kashmir.

His name had reportedly cropped up during the interrogation of businessman Zahoor Watali, arrested by the NIA for allegedly supplying money to terror groups and separatists in the Valley.

The NIA registered the case against separatist and secessionist leaders, including unknown members of the Hurriyat Conference, who were acting in connivance with active militants of proscribed terrorist organisations Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, Dukhtaran-e-Millat, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and other outfits and gangs in 2016.

The case was registered for raising, receiving and collecting funds through various illegal means, including hawala, for funding separatist and terror activities in the erstwhile state and causing disruption in the Valley by pelting security forces with stones, burning schools, damaging public property and waging war against India, the probe agency said in the FIR.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Srinagar:

Nomination papers of former J&K legislator Engineer Rashid, presently in Delhi’s Tihar Jail, were filed for the Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency on Monday.

The nomination papers of Sheikh Abdul Rashid, alias Engineer Rashid, founder of the Awami Itihad Party (AIP) have been filed by the party with Baramulla’s Returning Officer Minga Sherpa on completion of all necessary legal and administrative formalities, party spokesman Firdous Baba said.

“We had been waiting for the final approval from the authorities to go ahead with the tendering of papers and much to our respite, we completed the formalities yesterday (Sunday) only,” he said.

The party has named Engineer Rashid’s elder son Abrar Rashid as the cover candidate.

Engineer Rashid, is currently lodged at Tihar jail in connection with an alleged money laundering case.

With his entry, the electoral battle in the Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency has become triangular, as he faces former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah of the National Conference and Sajad Gani Lone of the People’s Conference. The J&K Apni Party, led by Syed Altaf Bukhari, is supporting Lone in this constituency and not fielding any candidate.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)