Former MLA Rashid Engineer sent to police custody till Aug 14 in terror funding case

A local court here on Saturday sent former Jammu and Kashmir legislator Rashid Engineer to the police custody till August 14 in connection with a terror-funding case.

Rashid, a former MLA from Langate, was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday and brought him to the national capital for his alleged role in the cross-border terror funding.

He was produced before the Duty Magistrate Dharmendra Singh who sent him to police custody.

Rashid was quizzed by the NIA last week as well as in 2017 when the case was registered.

The agency had registered a case of terror funding to fuel terrorist activities in Kashmir Valley. It said that Pakistani terror outfits -- Lashkar-e-Toiba and Hizbul Mujahideen along with intelligence agency ISI -- provided funds to separatist leaders to foment trouble in the Valley.

A charge sheet was filed in 2018 in the case.

Several separatist leaders including Shabbir Shah, Masrat Alam, and Asiya Andrabi are in judicial custody in connection with the case, which involves 26/11 Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed.