Siddiqui Kappan is an Indian journalist and columnist. In 2020, he was arrested by the UP government under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) while he was on his way to Hathras to report the gang rape of a 19-year-old Dalit girl by four men in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh. He was released in 2023 after being in jail for more than two years.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Siddiqui Kappan was born in 1980 (age 42 years; as of 2022) in Kerala. In 2013 he moved to Delhi.
Physical Appearance
Height (Approx): 5′ 8″
Weight (Approx): 55 kg
Hair Color: Black
Eye colour: black
Family
He belongs to a Muslim family in Malappuram, Kerala.
parents and siblings
His mother Khadija Kutti died in June 2021 at the age of 90 due to age-related ailments. she has a brother.
Siddiqui Kappan’s mother
wife and children
She is married to Rayanath Kappan. The couple have three children; Has two sons Muzammil Kappan and Zidan Kappan and a daughter Mehnaz Kappan.
Siddique Kappan with his wife and elder son Muzammil Kappan
Siddiqui Kappan’s wife and children
livelihood
Journalist
In 2009, he started working as a journalist for ‘Gulf Thejas Daily’ in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He is a regular contributor to Azhimukham, an independent Malayalam news portal. He is known for covering news related to crime, human rights, politics and government harassment of journalists. He is the secretary of the Delhi unit of the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ). He used to write articles for the monthly Malayalam magazine ‘Prasadgan’.
Controversy
Arrested for reporting on the 2020 Hathras gang rape case
On 5 October 2020, Siddiq Kappan, along with Atiq-ur-Rehman, Masood Ahmed and Alam, were traveling to Hathras by car to cover the 2020 Hathras gang rape and murder of a 19-year-old girl by four men . Upper caste men. His car was stopped by the Uttar Pradesh Police at a toll plaza in Mathura and he was arrested along with three others for allegedly “threatening to disturb peace”. In the FIR lodged against him, he was accused of sections 124A, 153A and 295A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (1967 UAPA), and the Information Technology Act (2000 IT Act). In an interview, he shared that many people told him that he was arrested because he was Muslim; However, he did not agree with this, and according to him, his identity as a journalist, and the fact that he is from Kerala, was the reason why he was arrested. He said,
I will not say that I was arrested because I am a Muslim. Everyone keeps saying this, but I don’t agree. I say that I was arrested because I am a journalist and because I am from Kerala. I am a Muslim, but I believe that my identity as a journalist from Kerala was used to target me.
Timeline of Siddiqui Kappan case
On 9 September 2022, he was granted bail by the Supreme Court of India. The then Chief Justice of India UU Lalit ordered him to keep the Delhi Police updated about his activities in Kerala for the next six weeks; However, on 13 September 2022, it was revealed that he would be kept in jail due to a money laundering case filed against him by the Enforcement Directorate. In an interview, he revealed that he was shocked to hear that he was accused of a money laundering case of irregular transactions of only Rs 5000, which according to him was completely baseless as the legal process takes place only when the income Be it Rs 1 crore. or more. He said,
It was a shock to me that I was accused of money laundering. Even the Allahabad High Court, while granting me bail, said that the allegation against me was of irregular transactions of only Rs 5,000. ED has jurisdiction only when the income is Rs 1 crore or more. I have been framed and kept in jail on charges that are completely baseless and will not hold up in any court.”
On 23 December 2022, the Allahabad High Court granted him bail in a case initiated against him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). He came out of jail on 2 February 2023 after being arrested for more than 2 years.
After his release from Lucknow jail in February 2023, in an interview, he shared that he was still kept in jail even after getting bail in December 2022; However, he will continue to fight for justice. He said,
This is half-hearted justice. Journalism is not a crime. I will continue my fight against the harsh laws. They kept me in jail even after I got bail after 28 months of a long battle. I don’t know who is benefiting from my stay in jail. These two years were very difficult, but I was never afraid.”
Salary
In a 2021 interview, while talking about his salary, he revealed that he used to get a monthly salary of Rs 26,500 at ‘Gulf Thejas Daily’, and Rs 25,000 as a monthly salary at Azimukham. He used to get Rs 2000 for writing an article for Prasadgan.
Facts/General Knowledge
- Siddik Kappan is also known as Siddik Kappan and Siddik Kappan.
- Following his arrest in the 2020 Hathras gang rape case, he was defended by Mohammed Dhanish in the court.
- In February 2021, Siddiqui Kappan received interim bail for five days to meet his ailing mother.
- In April 2021, when he tested positive for COVID-19; He was admitted to a hospital in Mathura jail complex for treatment. Later, he was shifted to KM Medical College in Mathura after his health deteriorated and after treatment, he tested negative for COVID-19. Later he returned to Mathura jail.
- In 2021, he was taken to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi for further treatment. Later, he tested positive for COVID-19 again in May 2021.
- In July 2021, many international news organizations demanded his release from jail. In an interview, Scott Griffen, deputy director of the International Press Institute (IPI), condemned the arrest of Siddiqui Kappan and the “unacceptable ill-treatment” towards him. He said,
We are extremely concerned that Mr. Kappan has been targeted and detained because of his journalistic activity. In the absence of evidence to justify these allegations, all charges against Mr. Kappan should be immediately dropped. The targeting of critical journalists in India is extremely worrying. All journalists in the country should be able to safely cover events in the public interest, without fear of harassment, detention or discrimination.
- In October 2021, a ‘Black Day Protest’ meeting was organized at the Press Club by the Press Club of India, Kerala Union of Working Journalists and Delhi Union of Journalists in support of Siddiqui Kappan.
Glimpses of Black Day Protest meeting in support of Siddiqui Kappan at Press Club today by Press Club of India, Kerala Union of Working Journalists, Delhi Union of Journalists pic.twitter.com/SMxulqU2tk
– Press Club of India (@PCITweets) 5 October 2021
- In a 2021 interview, his wife Raynath Kappan revealed that Siddiqui was tortured and beaten by the UP police when he told them that he eats beef. He said,
The UP Police asked him whether he used to eat beef. He said yes and was beaten. Our family was not informed about his arrest and we saw it on the news.”
- In an interview, he revealed that when he was living in jail, he was not allowed to read Malayalam and English language books and was only allowed to read Hindi books; However, his lawyer helped him get permission to read English and Malayalam books.
- On 15 August 2022, Siddiqui Kappan’s daughter Mehnaz Kappan delivered a speech on the occasion of India’s 76th Independence Day; He started the speech by talking about his father being in jail. He said,
I am Mahnaz Kappan. The daughter of journalist Siddiq Kappan, a civilian who has been forced into a dark room, restricting all the freedom of a citizen.
- In a 2023 interview, when asked why he was interested in reporting the gang rape of a 19-year-old Dalit girl in 2020, he replied that the victim’s body was cremated without the permission of her family , which he found intriguing and interesting.
- According to the Uttar Pradesh government, he is a member of the Popular Front of India, an Islamic political organization in India, which was banned by the Indian Home Ministry for 5 years in 2022.
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn