A Delhi court reserved its decision on Lok Sabha MP Rashid Engineer’s bail plea on Wednesday, with the ruling expected on September 4. Rashid, also known as Sheikh Abdul Rashid, is seeking regular bail in a terror funding case.
Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Chander Jit Singh conducted an in-camera hearing on the application and reserved the order. On August 20, the judge had issued a notice to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), asking for a response by August 28.
Rashid, who has been jailed since 2019 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, was granted custody parole on July 5 to take the oath of office after winning the Lok Sabha elections from Baramulla, Jammu and Kashmir.
He is currently held in Tihar jail. Rashid’s involvement surfaced during the investigation of Kashmiri businessman Zahoor Watali, who is accused of funding terrorist groups and separatists in Kashmir. The NIA’s charge sheet in the case includes several high-profile figures, such as Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik, Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed, and Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin. Malik was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2022 after pleading guilty.
