Er Rasheed takes oath as MP

Srinagar, July 5: Engineer Rashid took oath as a Member of Parliament from Baramulla Lok Sabha segment on Friday while being on a two-hour custody parole.

The 56-year-old politician who has been in Delhi’s Tihar jail on accusations of terror funding under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for over five years now, was on July 2 granted a two-hour custody parole by Delhi’s Patiala House Court after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) gave its consent to permit the MP-elected to take oath albeit after multiple delays.

The oath-taking ceremony was attended by Engineer Rashid’s family members including his sons Asrar Rashid and Abrar Rashid, daughter and wife, brother Khursheed Ahmad Sheikh and at least two other party functionaries.

As directed, those remaining present were allowed after producing identity cards but were not allowed to use phones and the internet.

Rashid emerged victorious in the Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency, which among others had former chief minister and National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah, Peoples Conference (PC) chief Sajjad Gani Lone, and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s Fayaz Ahmad Mir in the fray.