Siddique Kappan, a 43-year-old journalist from Mallapuram district of Kerala, has been released on bail from Lucknow jail after nearly two and a half years. In a conversation on February 1, a day before his release, his wife had said- “It’s too late, too late – but I’m glad they’re coming out now.”
Kappan was in jail for the last two and a half years and was granted bail by the Supreme Court in September 2022 in the UAPA case. After this, in December 2022, he had got bail from the Allahabad High Court in the ED case as well.
His wife Raihnath said that, “It has been 4 months since they got bail in the UAPA case, but it took a long time to complete the verification and other process. They are finally coming out, but our fight is not over yet.”
“The children are very happy. They have been waiting for his release for so long. ‘Inu varum, nale varum’ (He will come today, he will come tomorrow) – that’s all they were thinking for the last few months.”
Last year on Independence Day, Kappan’s daughter Mehnaz gave a touching speech at her school on her father’s long imprisonment. In this speech he said that, “I am Mehnaz Kappan. Daughter of Journalist Siddique Kappan, a citizen who has been forced to live in a dark room breaking all the liberties of a citizen”
‘First priority is his health’
Raihanath said that once he returns to Kerala, the entire focus will be on getting Kappan back on his feet health-wise. “This is a man who has been in a jail cell for two-and-a-half years. We need to pay attention to his health. He has gone through a lot of trauma.” He said that only after his recovery something will be thought about this case.
Raihanath also talked about how difficult life has been for him and his family in these years.
“This should not have happened to us. Kappan, our family, our children – we all suffered during this time. The person who used to help us financially was put in jail. Only we know that we paid the How fought to.”
But despite the delay, Raihnath said he has not lost faith in the justice system. “I believe in the justice system, and I believe we will win the case.”
Why was Siddique Kappan jailed?
In October 2020, Siddiqui Kappan was on his way to cover the news of the rape of a 19-year-old Dalit girl in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh, when he along with 3 people were arrested on the way. There is an allegation against him that he had come to Hathras with the intention of disturbing the peace.
After Kappan went to jail, a second FIR was registered under sections of UAPA and sedition. Based on the preliminary investigation, the police said in the first FIR that a criminal conspiracy was being hatched to “disrupt peace and law and order” in Hathras.
The police claimed that Kappan was going to Hathras with a “very determined intention to divide the caste and disturb the law and order situation” and had links with the Popular Front of India (PFI), which is now a banned organization.
