NEW DELHI: A Delhi court is likely to pronounce its order on a regular bail plea related to a terror funding case on Tuesday. This plea was moved by Independent Lok Sabha MP from J-K’s Baramulla, Engineer Rashid.
Sheikh Abdul Rashid, widely known as Engineer Rashid was granted an interim bail by additional Sessions Judge Chander Jit Singh on September 10 to enable him to campaign for the Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir.The judge had previously postponed the decision on his regular bail application.
Rashid has been lodged in Tihar jail since 2019 following his arrest by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in a 2017 terror funding case.
Rashid was born in Mawar village in Langate tehsil, Kupwara, before the effects of Pakistan-backed terrorism took root. As a teenager in the 1970s, he became drawn to the growing separatist feelings in his community and beyond.
In 2008, he entered the political arena and the epithet “Engineer” became his first name. He won the election the same year for the first time as an Independent candidate for north Kashmir’s Langate assembly seat.
Before his arrest by the NIA in the ongoing UAPA case, 2019 was a crucial year for Rashid as a politician as contested independently for the Baramulla Lok Sabha seat. Even though he failed to win the election, Rashid managed to garner more than a lakh votes and finished just about 800 votes behind Sajad Lone of the People’s Conference, highlighting his strong presence in the political landscape.
2024 Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections were held from September 18 to October 1 for 90 seats were held in three phases. The results were declared on October 8 in which the National Conference-Congress alliance attained a clear majority with 48 seats.
