NIA permits jailed Kashmiri leader Engineer Rashid to take oath as MP
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New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) granted permission for jailed Kashmiri leader Sheikh Abdul Rashid, also known as Engineer Rashid, to take his oath as MP on July 25.
Additional Sessions Judge Chander Jit Singh will pass an order on the plea on Tuesday. Rashid, an Independent MP from Baramulla who has been arrested in a 2017 Jammu and Kashmir terror funding case, had moved the court seeking interim bail, or custody parole in the alternative, to take his oath and perform his parliamentary functions.
On June 22, a special court here had adjourned the matter and asked the NIA to file its response. On Monday, the NIA's counsel said Rashid's oath-taking should be subject to conditions, including not speaking to the media.
The counsel also stated that Rashid, who is in Tihar Jail, must complete everything within a day. Rashid has been in jail since 2019 after being charged by the NIA under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for his alleged involvement in a terror funding case.
The former MLA's name surfaced 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 chargesheet 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.
Source:PTI
