Independent MP from Baramulla Engineer Rashid, who is currently lodged in Tihar Jail, has appealed to fellow parliamentarians to seek the unconditional release of former Popular Front of India (PFI) chairman E Abubacker, citing his advanced age and deteriorating health.
In a handwritten letter dated August 21, accessed by Maktoob, Rashid described the 75-year-old Abubacker as suffering from several chronic illnesses, including Parkinson’s disease. He also said Abubacker had undergone cancer surgery and was now severely debilitated.
“While my painful incarceration in Tihar jail has already entered 8th year, I have come across many inmates whose plight shook the conscience of everyone,” Rashid wrote.
Engineer Rashid Compares Abubacker’s Condition to Stan Swamy
Rashid said he was shocked after seeing an elderly prisoner being taken around in a wheelchair at Tihar Jail on August 13.
“The old man is suffering from multiple chronic ailments and has also undergone cancer surgery. He can neither eat nor speak nor listen properly, and due to Parkinson’s disease, he can’t even write,” he wrote.
Rashid compared Abubacker’s condition with that of Father Stan Swamy, the Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist who died in custody in July 2021 while facing charges in the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case.
“In his face, not only me, but every sensible inmate, can clearly see the face of Father Stan Swamy, who died under miserable conditions in jail when he was in his 80s,” Rashid said.
Appeal to Modi, Shah and Chief Justice
Rashid urged MPs to collectively raise the issue of Abubacker’s detention and seek his release on humanitarian grounds.
“Please speak for his unconditional release, as there is no fun in keeping a person who is on his deathbed, who can not move, speak, listen or write, in continued incarceration in the notorious Tihar jail,” he wrote.
He also appealed to parliamentarians to jointly approach the Chief Justice of India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to consider Abubacker’s release.
“There is a chance to vindicate the claim that India is a country where human lives matter irrespective of caste, creed, culture and religion,” Rashid wrote.
“Let politics not divide us on this purely human issue,” he concluded.
E Abubacker’s UAPA Case
Abubacker was arrested in September 2022 following the nationwide crackdown on the PFI and was booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The Union government subsequently banned the organisation for five years, alleging links to unlawful activities and terrorism.
In July 2026, a Special NIA court in New Delhi rejected Abubacker’s bail plea. His family has since approached the Delhi High Court challenging the order.
Rashid has himself been in custody since 2019 in a case related to alleged militancy funding. The letter was written through his legal counsel and carries official notations permitting it to be mailed to his lawyer.
