Delhi-based Kerala Journalist Siddique Kappan’s wife, Raihanath Siddique, has asked chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s to intervene for the release of her husband who was jailed at Mathura following his arrest by the Uttar Pradesh police.
On October 5, Siddique Kappan along with three others were arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Police while they were on their way to Hathras to cover the alleged rape and murder of a Dalit Girl. He was booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act alleging intentions to stoke communal tensions by the police.
“The Police asked him (Siddique Kappan) to confess that he had gone to Hathras following directions by CPI(M) leaders. He was also beaten up demanding that he reveal the name of two CPI(M) MPs,” Raihanath said.
She said that the Uttar Pradesh Police had earlier called him a Popular Front of India (PFI) activist who has links with the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).
She also said that Siddique Kappan was a journalist who had multiple contacts of political party representatives and he was not aligned to any party in particular.
“He is just another journalist who wanted to cover a human rights violation in Hathras,” she said.
She also alleged that the Uttar Pradesh government was trying to discredit the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ)’s Delhi unit. Siddique Kappan was the chief of this unit before his arrest.
Raihanath told the media on Tuesday that she and her family plan to hold a dharna outside the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram as soon as the first week of January to raise the demand.
They had already approached the Chief Minster’s Office for help but the Kerala government turned them away saying the arrest happened in another state and they could do little to interfere.