Khalistani sympathiser Amritpal Singh and Kashmiri leader Sheikh Abdul Rashid, also known as Engineer Rashid, released on parole, took oath as members of the Lok Sabha on Friday. The swearing-in ceremony was held under tight security in and around the Parliament building.
According to a report by news agency PTI, the MPs-elect completed the formalities and took the oath in the chamber of the Lok Sabha speaker. Both were escorted to the Parliament complex by security personnel on Friday morning.
Amritpal Singh, 31, is currently incarcerated in a prison in Assam's Dibrugarh district for cases registered under the National Security Act. Rashid, 56, is held in Delhi's Tihar jail in connection with a terror funding case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Singh was granted a four-day parole starting July 5 to facilitate his travel from Assam to Delhi and back, while Rashid was granted a two-hour parole, excluding travel time from Tihar to Parliament. Singh and Rashid secured their Lok Sabha seats as independent candidates from Khadoor Sahib in Punjab and Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir, respectively.
Their parole conditions stipulate that they must be accompanied by security personnel at all times and are prohibited from speaking to or addressing the media. Family members are also barred from making any media statements.
Amritpal Singh, the chief of the Waris Punjab De group, was arrested in April 2023 for an incident in February where he and his supporters clashed with police to free one of his aides from custody. Rashid, a former MLA, was arrested in 2017 for allegedly funding terrorist groups and separatists in the Kashmir valley.
