Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) has knocked on the door of the Supreme Court for the immediate release of a Malayalam journalist who was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh government when he was on his way to Hathras where a 19-year-old Dalit woman was allegedly gang-raped.
The journalists' association filed a habeas corpus petition before the top court yesterday, seeking its direction for the release of Siddique Kappan, who is also the Secretary of KUWJ's Delhi unit from the illegal arrest and detention from Uttar Pradesh police."
On Monday, Kappan along with three others was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Police in Mathura over their alleged links to the Popular Front of India (PFI), an organization that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath government wants banned.
According to Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar, Kappan and three others were "found to have links with Popular Front of India". The First Information Report (FIR) registered against them states that they were going to Hathras to "disrupt peace as part of larger conspiracy".
According to the police, the four men - Atiq-ur Rehman, Siddique Kappan, Masood Ahmed and Alam - were stopped at a toll plaza by police after they received information that some "suspicious people were on their way to Hathras from Delhi". Their mobile phones, a laptop and some literature, "which could have an impact on peace, and law and order in the state", have been seized, the police added.
The four men have been booked under sedition law and section 17 of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, which deals with raising funds for terrorist activities, The Hindu reported.
In a letter to the UP Chief Minister, the journalists' body requested him to release its member "at the earliest", adding that "he was going to Hathras to cover the present situation" there.
"We understand that he was taken into police custody by Uttar Pradesh Police from Hathras toll plaza. Our efforts and the efforts by some advocates based in Delhi to contact him were not successful. The Hathras Police Station and the State Police department has not provided any information so far on taking him into custody," NDTV quoted the latter.
Ban PFI
Yogi Adityanath government sought a ban on the PFI last year over its alleged links to the protests in the state against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) which many opposition parties see as anti-Muslim.
The state government is facing widespread criticism over its handling of the alleged gang-rape incident in Hathras. The incident relates to the alleged gang-rape of a 19-year-old woman by four upper-caste men in a village. However, the state police has ruled out rape citing a forensic report by FSL. The police move has attracted several questions and criticism, with experts pointing out that the sample was collected very late rendering it meaningless.
Nineteen FIRs have been filed over the Hathras incident by the Uttar Pradesh police, facing criticism over the handling of the case. The police has alleged an attempt to disturb peace in the state and listed sedition, conspiracy and promoting religious hatred in the main FIR or First Information Report filed in the incident.
Also read:
Such women are always found dead in millet fields: BJP leader's shocking remark on Hathras victim
Six-year-old Aligarh rape victim, succumbs to injuries; family protests demanding arrest
TN preacher demands selfies from minors in skirts; students share shocking chats
