NIA court gives interim bail to Engineer Rashid to campaign for J&K polls

New Delhi: A special NIA court granted interim bail to Engineer Rashid, a member of parliament from Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla constituency, till October 2. Delhi's Patiala House Court granted interim bail to Shaikh Rashid, alias Engineer Rashid, to campaign for the ongoing Jammu and Kashmir elections.

Speaking to ET, Engineer's lawyer, Vikhyat Oberoi said, "The bail is a huge relief after having spent more than five years in jail." Rashid has been in Delhi's Tihar Jail since 2019 after being arrested in 2017 by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in the 2017 terror-funding case. His name first cropped up during the investigation of Kashmiri businessman Zahoor Watali, who was arrested by NIA for allegedly funding terror groups and separatists in Kashmir.

NIA had filed a charge sheet against several people, including separatist leader Yasin Malik, Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed and Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin, in the case. Malik was sentenced to life imprisonment by a trial court in 2022 after he pleaded guilty to the charges.


Rashid defeated NC leader Omar Abdullah from Baramulla earlier this year. Rashid leads the Awami Ittehad Party. He had won the Langate assembly seat in 2008 and 2014 J&K polls. He unsuccessfully contested 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti said: "(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 (Rashid) organisation as their candidates are fielded everywhere? Where is the funding coming from? Where are they getting the courage to engage in hooliganism?"

(With agency Inputs)