Father level serious charges on Shehla Rashid; says his house being used for anti-national activities
Jammu, November 30: Human rights and students activist Shehla Rashid has come under attack from her own father Abdul Rashid Shohra who, in a letter to Director General of Police Dilbagh Singh, on Monday alleged that her daughter had taken Rs 3 crore from Kashmir businessman Ahmed Shah Vatali who along with former MLA Engineer Rashid has been arrested in a terror funding case.
Apprehending threat to his life from Shehla Rashid, his eldest daughter Asma Rashid, wife Zubaida Shora and her security guard Sakib Ahmed, he in a letter to Director General of Police Dilbagh Singh has sought his intervention in ensuring his personal security and getting entry into his house in Srinagar as per orders of the 2ndAdditional Sessions Judge, Srinagar. He also sought an enquiry into their bank accounts, e-mail accounts, acquisition of property by them in Delhi and “mysterious financial dealings with Feroz Peerzada, Zahoor Vatali and Engineer Rashid’’.
The letter, copy of which were circulated by Abdul Rashid Shora to media persons here, has been marked to IGP Kashmir “for appropriate legal action’’.
Pointing out that the threat to his life started in 2017 when Shehla Rashid all of a sudden jumped into Kashmir politics by first joining National Conference and later the Jammu Kashmir People’s Movement Party, he said that just two months before his arrest in terror funding case under provisions of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Zahoor Vatali had called him to his Sanant Nagar resident in June 2017. Engineer Rasheed was also present there.
They revealed him their plan to launch JKPM and sought my help in getting Shehla Rashid, who was then in her last semester of PhD in Sociology, to join them in their game plan. Shah Faesal, a former politician and bureaucrat, was in USA at that time. For this, they “offered me Rs 3 crore for Shehla to join these notorious people’’, the letter read, adding that he did not accept the money and later advised his daughter also not to have any transaction with these people.
He said that despite his resistance, his wife and elder daughter, however, supported Shehla and became party to the deal along with one Sakib Ahmad, a downtown boy who was introduced to him as her personal securityman as he used to carry a pistol with him.
After a week, when Shehla returned from Delhi, she confirmed him that she has got the referred amount transferred at Delhi “in cash’’ and “there was no need for me to disclose anything regarding this transaction and her meeting with Zahoor vatali, Engineer Rashid with anybody as it could endanger my life’’, he said. “Since as a concerned father, I strongly objected to my daughter’s decision for joining these notorious people as I strongly felt that the coming money will be used for unlawful activities,’’ he said, adding that he was threatened by Sakib and other “suspicious people’’ frequenting his house for his continuous resistance to Shehla Rashid.“I have strong belief that there are anti-national activities going on in my house, the characters involved in this plan are my daughters, my wife and Sheela’s security man namely Sakib Ahmad (a downtown locality boy who carries a pistol with him and is associated with her since 2017), who lately threatened me with his pistol for my resistance posted to Sheila for her activities,” he said in the letter.“For the continuous resistance that I posed to Sheila, Sakib and other suspicious persons who frequented my house I was continuously threatened to leave the house,” he said, adding “for my strict stand against these activities, Shehla and her mother hatched a conspiracy to throw me out of the house by filing a complaint under the provisions of Protection of women from domestic violence act in the court of 3rd Additional Munsiff, Srinagar wherein the said court restrained me from staying in my home”.
The 2nd Additional Sessions Judge, Srinagar, however, allowed him to stay in the house, he said, adding that the local police did not accompany him to his house despite the court order.
As he went home all alone along with the court order, he was threatened there by Sakib and his armed associates making him to flee to Jammu for safety, he alleged. In his letter to the DGP, he request him to ensure his personal safety and directions to concerned police station in getting him back into his house as per court order.
