Rashid Engineer interim bail: Awami Ittehad gets big boost; Omar Abdullah alleges political manoeuvre

Kupwara (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], September 10 (ANI): After the Awami Ittehad Party Chief and Baramulla MP Rashid Engineer was granted interim bail in a terror funding case on Tuesday, National Conference leader and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah alleged that bail was a political manoeuvre to garner votes rather than serve the voters who elected him to Parliament.

Omar Abdullah said, “I knew this would happen sometime or the other. i feel sorry for the people of Baramulla because he has not been granted bail for the welfare of the people of Baramulla or attend Parliament. He has been granted bail just to contest elections and fetch votes after which he will be sent back to Tihar Jail. People of North Kashmir will again be unrepresented.”

The bail of parliamentarian Rashid Engineer came as a boost to the Awami Ittehad party just ahead of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls.

Notably, the interim bail has been granted till October 2, 2024, by the court, which directed him to surrender on October 3 before the concerned jail. By the order, the court allow him to campaign for the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections.

Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) workers were seen celebrating after Baramulla MP Rashid Engineer gets interim bail.

Rashid’s party leader Ishtiyaq Qadri said that is very happy news.

“This is very happy news. We always hoped he would get bail. He should be given an absolute bail instead of interim bail. He is absolutely innocent and behind bars for 6 years for no reason,” Qadri said.

Democratic Progressive Azad Party Chief, Ghulam Nabi Azad also welcomed the court’s decision.

“I welcome the interim bail order granted to Eng Rashid Sahib by the Delhi Patiala House Court. As a democratically elected MP with a strong mandate, this is a step towards justice and his right to campaign in the assembly elections,” Azad said on X.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Spokesperson Abhijeet Jasrotia said that Rashid has been granted bail by the law of the land.

“The country runs by law, if the law of the country has given the bail, then there are no issues. The law of the land that has restored Article 370 approved his (Engineer Rashid) bail,” Jasrotia said.

Rashid Engineer had filed a bail application requesting interim bail for three months, while his regular bail application remains pending before the same court, with an order expected on September 11.

Recently, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had opposed the regular bail plea of Rashid Engineer in the UAPA case and stated that Rashid Engineer, as a Member of Parliament, may misuse his position to influence witnesses and obstruct justice if granted bail.

The agency said a confidential report indicating that Engineer previously misused the telephone facilities in Central Jail, Tihar, leading to restrictions on his call privileges. The NIA fears he might misuse his liberty similarly if released on bail. The NIA claims Engineer defended the 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed’s terror activities as a ‘political cause,’ suggesting a troubling alignment with extremist narratives.

The NIA asserts that Engineer is involved in a strategy by Pakistani and secessionist groups to portray terrorist acts as political struggles, aiming to incite separatism in Jammu and Kashmir and given these concerns, the NIA urged the Patiala House Court of Delhi to reject Engineer’s bail application.

Rashid, contested the election as an Independent candidate, and underscored his growing political influence in the region by defeating National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah from the Baramulla seat in the recently held Lok Sabha elections.

Rashid, meanwhile, seeks bail as his case progresses.

In 2005, Engineer Rashid was arrested by the Special Operations Group (SOG) in Srinagar for allegedly supporting militants and was held for three months and 17 days. He faced charges of anti-national activities and was incarcerated in Cargo, Humhama, and Raj Bagh prisons. However, the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Srinagar later dropped all charges against him on humanitarian grounds.

In August 2019, Rashid was again arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). During his incarceration, he filed his nomination for the 2024 parliamentary elections from jail and won by a margin of 204,000 votes, defeating former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls will be held in three phases on September 18, 25, and October 1. The counting will be done on October 8. There are a total number of 90 assembly constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir, out of which 7 seats are reserved for SCs and 9 seats are reserved for STs.