Er Rashid humiliated for refusing to withdraw plaint against jail authorities: AIP
The party alleged that jail authorities terrorised and humiliated him on September 18 and 19 after he refused to withdraw a complaint against the jail superintendent for subjecting inmates to horror, humiliation and torture over the past month
Awami Itihad Party (AIP) has strongly condemned what it termed as a deliberate assault on the dignity of its president and Baramulla MP, Engineer Rashid, inside Tihar jail.
The party alleged that jail authorities terrorised and humiliated him on September 18 and 19 after he refused to withdraw a complaint against the jail superintendent for subjecting inmates to horror, humiliation and torture over the past month.
AIP chief spokesperson Inam Un Nabi, in a statement, said: “After encouraging a murderous assault on Engineer Rashid by two notorious inmates on August 31, the situation worsened when Engineer Rashid Sahab stood firm and refused to withdraw his complaint. Instead of forwarding the complaint to higher authorities as required by law, the superintendent made every attempt to bury it.”
He said that on September 16, Rashid’s legal counsel, advocate Hasnain Khwaja, was deliberately denied a meeting with him. “The jail superintendent kept advocate Khwaja waiting from 3 pm to 4.40 pm only to prevent Engineer Rasheed Sahab from narrating the developments to his lawyer. When the lawyer finally left, humiliated and empty-handed, it became evident that authorities were trying to cover up their misconduct,” he said.
According to Inam Un Nabi, matters escalated when on the morning of September 17, the Baramulla MP declined to meet the jail superintendent, who claims to be a close relative of Delhi CM Rekha Gupta. “Hurt, humiliated and disturbed, Engineer Rashid Sahab refused to meet Mr Gupta. In retaliation, on September 18 around half a dozen jail officials stormed his cell without even removing their shoes, pressuring him for hours to vacate immediately under the pretext of a transfer order,” he said adding that despite Rashid’s request that packing belongings late in the evening was impossible, officials kept harassing him till 8 pm. “The next morning, September 19, he was forcibly shifted from the cell without being allowed breakfast or even morning prayers. This is nothing but institutionalised harassment.”
Inam Un Nabi said that jail authorities are threatened by Rashid’s campaign for basic jail reforms, particularly his call to end the colonial practice of forcing inmates regardless of age, caste, creed or religion to remove footwear when entering the offices of the jail superintendent and deputy superintendent.
“These dirty tricks cannot silence Engineer Rashid. Even in jail, he continues to speak for the legitimate rights of the people,” Inam Un Nabi declared. “It is evident from the series of developments that some officials, intoxicated by ultra-nationalist arrogance, believe that humiliating Kashmiris is their birthright and a service to the nation. This mindset is dangerous and unacceptable.”
