Raihana Kappan, the wife of Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan, registered a police complaint against a right-wing news portal named Karma News for allegedly framing her in fake news published by the channel.
In her complaint, Raihana stated that she found her name tagged in a Facebook post along with 12 others in a video story published by Karma News claiming that she called for the assassination of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, Maktoob Media reported.
“All the claims made by the video are 100% fake and neither I nor anyone who tagged me on social media has posted such comments,” Raihana Kappan said in the complaint.
“Such fake news about me and my family is taking a toll on security and the mental health of our children,” she added.
Raihana Kappan spearheaded the movement to free her husband, journalist Siddique Kappan from jail and he was released last year from the Lucknow jail on bail after he was accused under the draconian UAPA Act (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) by the UP police while travelling to Hathras for reporting the death of a young Dalit girl who was allegedly gang-raped and murdered by Upper caste men.
His arrest made headlines worldwide as critics flagged it as a crackdown on press freedom.
The reportage of Karma News is accused of inciting communal disharmony amongst various religious groups in Kerala. Vince Mathew is the founder, managing director, and chief editor of Karma News. The website says its head office is in Australia and has an office in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram.
According to Maktoob Media, the news channel is facing a defamation lawsuit filed by the online news portal Newslaundry in the Delhi High Court.
