“I got a lot of support from the media, and I am happy,” said Journalist Siddique Kappan
Journalist Siddique Kappan was released from a Lucknow jail on Thursday morning, more than two years after he was detained by the Uttar Pradesh Police while en route to the Hathras home of a young Dalit lady who had died after an alleged gangrape.
After being granted bail by the Allahabad High Court on December 23 in a money laundering case lodged by the Enforcement Directorate, Kappan was finally released more than a month later.
Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh | Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan who was booked by the UP government under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) released from jail after he was granted bail. pic.twitter.com/iW02VwqprG
— ANI (@ANI) February 2, 2023
Kappan stated in a statement to the media following his release that it was a “long fight” to acquire bail and be released. “After 28 months and a long fight, I am out today. I got a lot of support from the media, and I am happy,” he said.
When questioned about the accusations the police made against him, he said, “I had gone to do reporting there (in Hathras). What is wrong in that?…Nothing was found on me except my laptop and mobile phone. I had two pens and a notebook too.”
On October 5, 2020, Kappan and three others were detained in Mathura before travelling to Hathras.
The high court, in an order passed by Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh, had said that “except for allegations that Rs 5,000 was transferred in the bank account of co-accused, Atikur Rahman, there is no other transaction, either in the bank account of the accused-applicant or in the bank account of co-accused”.
According to the report, Kappan was eligible for release on bail because the crime’s proceeds were less than Rs 1 crore, and there was little chance that he would do the same crime again.
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After being detained by the UP Police for alleged affiliations to the extremist Popular Front of India, which the Centre had banned on September 28, Kappan was granted bail by the Supreme Court on September 9 of last year in a case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
In the UAPA case, the Supreme Court granted Kappan bail after questioning what specific charges had been made against him and taking note of “the period of detention undergone.”
In December, a Lucknow court filed charges under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in the case against Kappan and six other individuals. THE OTHER ACCUSED ARE K A Rauf Sherif, Atikur Rahman, Masud Ahmad, Mohammad Alam, Abdul Razzak, and Ashraf Khadir.
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