Engineer Rashid Survives Alleged Attack in Tihar Jail, Says Lawyer

Engineer Rashid Survives Alleged Attack in Tihar Jail, Says Lawyer

SRINAGAR: Awami Itihaad Party (AIP) on Friday raised alarm over what it described as a sinister campaign inside Delhi’s Tihar Jail, after incarcerated MP Engineer Rashid reportedly revealed to his lawyer that Kashmiri prisoners are being subjected to targeted harassment and physical threats.

In a statement issued by the party spokesperson, Advocate Hubbi said that Er Rashid disclosed how “Tihar Jail authorities have devised new methods to harass Kashmiri prisoners by deliberately lodging male eunuchs with them inside barracks, who are encouraged to provoke, attack and create a hostile environment.”

He further revealed that Er Rashid had a narrow escape when a group of these male eunuch inmates together pushed and threw a gate on him. “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,” Hubbi stated.

According to Er Rashid’s account, Kashmiri inmates including Ayoub Pathan of Beerwah, Bilal Mir of Qamarwari and Amir Gojri of Srinagar were first attacked by these male eunuchs, while Arshid Tanch of Kupwara was also subjected to humiliation. Despite facing this behaviour patiently, the harassment crosses all limits whenever Kashmiris begin their namaz, with deliberate attempts made to disturb and provoke them.

Shockingly, Er Rashid revealed that these male eunuchs have been declared HIV positive and are intentionally placed with Kashmiri detainees. He also cautioned that notorious gangsters inside Tihar Jail appear to be backing this sinister campaign, targeting Kashmiris systematically for the last three months.

AIP, while expressing deep concern and anguish, has demanded an independent probe, strict accountability of the jail authorities and immediate guarantees for the safety and dignity of Er Rashid and all Kashmiri detainees, reads the statement.