J-K MLA Engineer Rashid detained after trying to gherao assembly

Rashid along with his party activists held a sit-in outside secretariat before being whisked away by police to premises of secretariat.

Jammu and Kashmir police arrested legislator Engineer Abdul Rashid on Friday as he was trying to gherao the legislative assembly.

Engineer Rashid, an independent legislator, holds a banner as he disrupts the first day of Jammu and Kashmir state assembly session in Srinagar. (AP)

Rashid was protesting the alleged sabotage of the beef bill as it was not taken up for discussion in state legislature on Thursday.

Rashid along with his party activists held a sit-in outside secretariat before being whisked away by police to premises of secretariat.

Speaking to Hindustan Times, Rashid said he was under detention as he was “protesting the failure of the government to stop interference in people’s religious matter’’.

“They have muted my voice in the assembly so I have taken to roads,’’ he said.

The MLA from Langate was thrashed by BJP legislators for hosting a beef party in the premises of the state assembly on Thursday .

Lawmakers from the ruling BJP threw kicks and punches at Engineer Rashid a day after he reportedly served beef kebabs and patties on the lawns of the state legislators’ hostel in protest against the prohibition on cow slaughter that has triggered debates and communal concerns in parts of the country.

Speaker Kavinder Gupta adjourned the House for the day at 1.30 pm, the schedule followed in the assembly during the current session, despite opposition leaders seeking more time to discuss the issue.