Srinagar: Mohammad Rafiq Shah, who was acquitted in 2005 Delhi serial blasts case, has joined a pro-freedom party Tehreek-e-Hurriyat (TeH) led by veteran Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Geelani Arrest spree, Kashmiri detainees,as a fulltime member.
Rafiq told Kashmir Reader that he had submitted the TeH membership form in the year 2014 while he was serving sentence in Tihar jail.
Sharing that his arrest was intended to crack a whip on any student activism in Kashmir and to create an example for others, Rafiq added, “I have joined with a motivation to serve people and work so that no other youth like me has to serve jail without any fault of his.”
The party’s Srinagar president Raja Mehrajudin Kalwal confirmed Rafiq’s membership and said he has joined as a basic party worker.
“He had submitted his membership form and has joined as a full time worker and right now is being introduced to the party work,” he said.
Before his acquittal in February this year, Rafiq spent 12 years in Tihar until he was acquitted from all charges in the serial blasts case that rocked New Delhi on October 29, 2005. Rafiq was a student of Islamic Studies department at University of Kashmir (KU) when he was picked up. He was 22-year-old at the time of his arrest.
Along-with Shah, Mohammad Hussain Fazili and Tariq Dar, both residents of Srinagar, were absolved of all charges related to Delhi blasts that resulted in the killing of 67 civilians and left nearly 200 injured.
Fazili, who worked as a shawl weaver, is also likely to join the pro-freedom party led by Syed Ali Geelani, according to party insiders.