Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Apr 30 : The MP from Baramulla Abdul Rashid Sheikh today arrived here to meet his ailing father after the Delhi High Court granted him a week’s interim bail.
Rashid, alias Engineer Rashid, the Lok Sabha MP, arrived at the Srinagar airport this afternoon and drove straightaway to the SMHS hospital Srinagar to visit his ailing father.
Hundreds of party activists and well-wishers gathered at different places at Srinagar Airport road and later outside SMHS Hospital, expressing solidarity and support.
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Amid tight security Rashid proceeded directly from the airport to the hospital. The moment turned deeply emotional when Er Rashid met his father, who is critically ill.
The MP was seen breaking down and bursting into tears while embracing him, a scene that moved many present.
Adhering strictly to the directions and restrictions laid down by the Delhi High Court, Er Rashid did not speak to media or interact with anyone other than his immediate family during the visit.
Awami Itihaad Party (AIP) Chief Spokesperson Inam Un Nabi thanked the police and civil administration for their support and cooperation in managing the situation.
“Despite huge spontaneous gatherings from airport to Hospital, the administration ensured that everything remained peaceful and dignified. We appreciate their support during this sensitive time,” he said.
He also urged party workers and supporters to continue maintaining restraint, emphasizing that the visit is purely humanitarian in nature.
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday granted one-week interim bail to the jailed Lok Sabha MP to enable him to visit his ailing father.
A bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Madhu Jain, however, clarified that during this period, Rashid, who is undergoing jail term in a terror-funding case, could either visit the hospital where his father is being treated or remain at home.
The bench further ordered that at least two police officials would accompany him in plainclothes at all times and Rashid shall not bear the cost of their travel. “During the one-week duration, there shall not be any “undue visitors” when Rashid is with his father except immediate family members,” it added.
The court passed the order while dealing with Rashid’s appeal against a trial court’s April 24 decision refusing to grant him interim bail.
The Baramulla MP, who defeated Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Sajad Lone in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, is facing trial in the terror-funding case with allegations that he funded separatists and terror groups in Jammu and Kashmir.
He has been lodged in Delhi’s Tihar Jail since 2019 after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested him in the 2017 terror-funding case.
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