Independent Baramulla lawmaker Engineer Rashid, who is lodged in Delhi’s Tihar jail, has appealed to fellow parliamentarians to press for the unconditional release of E Abubacker, the former chairman of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI), citing his advanced age and deteriorating health.
In a handwritten letter dated Aug. 21 and accessed by Maktoob, Rashid said the 75-year-old Abubacker was suffering from several chronic illnesses, including Parkinson’s disease, and had previously undergone cancer surgery.
Rashid said he was deeply affected after seeing an elderly inmate being taken around Tihar in a wheelchair on Aug. 13.
“On the evening of 13th Aug ’26, when I saw an 80 yr. old man being taken on a wheelchair, I was shocked,” Rashid wrote, saying the man’s condition had reminded inmates of the late Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist Father Stan Swamy.
Rashid said Abubacker was struggling to eat, speak, hear and write because of his ailments and Parkinson’s disease.
He drew a parallel with Swamy, who died in custody in July 2021 at the age of 84 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,” Rashid wrote.
Rashid said Swamy’s death showed the consequences of keeping seriously ill elderly people in custody, adding that subsequent acknowledgements of the failure to save his life could not undo the loss.
He urged MPs to call for Abubacker’s release, arguing that continued imprisonment of a critically ill and largely immobile elderly man served no useful purpose.
“Please speak for his unconditional release,” Rashid wrote, appealing to lawmakers to jointly approach Chief Justice of India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah on humanitarian grounds.
Rashid said the issue should be treated separately from political differences and described it as an opportunity to demonstrate that human life is valued regardless of caste, religion or political affiliation.
“Let politics not divide us on this purely human issue,” he wrote.
Rashid has been in custody since 2019 in a case related to alleged funding of militancy.
The letter was sent through his lawyers and bears official notations showing that permission was granted for it to be mailed to his counsel.
Abubacker was arrested in September 2022 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act during a nationwide crackdown on the PFI. The federal government later banned the organisation for five years, alleging that it was involved in unlawful activities and had links to terrorism.
A special National Investigation Agency court in New Delhi rejected Abubacker’s bail plea in July. His family has since approached the Delhi High Court challenging the decision.
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