Engineer Rashid's Party Claims Big Attack In Tihar, Sources Say Minor Injuries

Jailed MP Engineer Rashid's party has claimed there has been a deliberate attack on him inside Delhi's Tihar Jail, which could have been fatal. Dismissing talk of any murderous intent, however, jail sources said he was beaten up by some inmates after an argument and has suffered minor injuries. 

The Awami Ittehad Party said the MP from Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla, who defeated National Conference leader Omar Abdullah in last year's Lok Sabha elections, was attacked by transgender inmates "who are encouraged to provoke, attack and create a hostile environment".

The party said a gate was thrown on the MP. "It was a miraculous escape. Had it hit directly, it could have been fatal. This is nothing short of a deliberate attempt to physically harm him," it quoted Mr Rashid's lawyer as saying.

Tihar Jail sources, however, said Mr Rashid had an argument with some transgender inmates about a week ago and they beat him up. The MP, they added, suffered minor injuries.

"Claims of an intent to kill the MP are baseless. Mr Rashid is lodged in jail number three, where only transgender inmates are kept. There are only three transgender inmates as of now. Talk of any plan to kill him has no basis," said a source.

Mr Rashid has been in jail since 2019 after the National Investigation Agency arrested him under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in a 2017 terror-funding case. His name had come up during an investigation into Zahoor Watali, a Kashmiri businessman accused of funding terrorist and separatist groups. 

The MP had been granted permission to attend the Monsoon and Budget sessions of Parliament this year and was also allowed to campaign for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections last year.

Contesting from the Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency last year, Mr Rashid had won by a margin of over 2 lakh votes, defeating Omar Abdullah and Sajjad Gani Lone.