New Delhi, May 15 (HS): The Delhi High Court has issued a notice to the NIA while hearing the regular bail plea of accused in a terror funding case, Engineer Rashid, who is also a Member of Parliament. A bench headed by Justice Subramaniam Prasad has ordered the next hearing on the bail plea to be held on July 29.
The Patiala House Court had rejected Engineer Rashid’s regular bail on March 21. Engineer Rashid has challenged the order of the Patiala House Court in the High Court. He had achieved victory in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections by defeating former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah by nearly one lakh votes. Rashid was arrested by the NIA in 2016.
On March 16, 2022, the Patiala House Court ordered the framing of charges against Hafiz Saeed, Syed Salahuddin, Yasin Malik, Shabir Shah, Masrat Alam, Engineer Rashid, Zahoor Ahmed Watali, Bitta Karate, Aftab Ahmed Shah, Avatar Ahmed Shah, Naim Khan, Bashir Ahmed Butt alias Peer Saifullah, and other accused. According to the NIA, organizations such as Lashkar-e-Taiba, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, JKLF, and Jaish-e-Mohammad, with the support of Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI, have undertaken attacks and violence against civilians and security forces in Jammu and Kashmir. The All Party Hurriyat Conference was established in 1993 to carry out secessionist activities.
According to the NIA, Hafiz Saeed, in collaboration with Hurriyat Conference leaders, conducted financial transactions to carry out terrorist activities via hawala and other channels. This money was used to spread unrest in the valley, attack security forces, set schools on fire, and damage public property. After the Home Ministry received this information, the NIA registered a case under sections 120B, 121, 121A of the Indian Penal Code and sections 13, 16, 17, 18, 20, 38, 39, and 40 of the UAPA.
Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
