Jail authorities terrorized, humiliated Er Rashid inside Tihar Jail
AIP demands independent probe into institutionalized harassment
New Delhi: The Awami Itihaad Party (AIP) has revealed that jail authorities in New Delhi’s Tihar Jail are subjecting its president and jailed Parliament member, Engineer Rashid, to humiliation and harassment in a deliberate assault on his dignity.
According to Kashmir Media Service, in a statement issued in Srinagar, the AIP said Rashid was terrorized and humiliated by jail officials on September 18 and 19 after he refused to withdraw a formal complaint lodged against the jail superintendent for subjecting inmates to horror, humiliation and torture over the past month.
The party’s chief spokesperson, Inam un Nabi, said that after encouraging a murderous assault on Rashid by two inmates on August 31, authorities intensified pressure when he refused to retract his complaint. “Instead of forwarding the complaint to higher authorities as required by law, the superintendent made every attempt to bury it,” he noted.
The AIP also said Rashid’s counsel, Advocate Hasnain Khwaja, was deliberately denied a meeting on September 16. “The jail superintendent kept Khwaja waiting for over an hour and a half only to prevent Rashid from narrating the developments to his lawyer,” Nabi stated, adding that the move was clearly aimed at covering up misconduct.
Matters escalated on September 17 when Rashid declined to meet the jail superintendent, who claimed to be related to a Delhi politician. The next day, September 18, half a dozen jail officials stormed his cell without removing their shoes, pressuring him for hours to vacate under the pretext of a transfer order. Despite his request to shift belongings later, he was harassed until 8 pm. On the morning of September 19, Rashid was forcibly moved without being allowed breakfast or morning prayers.
“This is nothing but institutionalized harassment,” Nabi said, warning that the continued bulldozing of Rashid’s self-respect and legitimate rights would have serious consequences.
The party demanded an independent probe into the entire episode by a competent authority or a retired judge, to ensure accountability.
