5,000-Page UAPA Charge Sheet Filed Against Journo Siddique Kappan

Siddique Kappan, a journalist from Kerala, was arrested while he was on his way to Hathras in August 2020.

Siddique Kappan, a journalist from Kerala, was arrested while he was on his way to Hathras last year. 

(Photo: Twitter/Altered by The Quint)

The Uttar Pradesh Police has filed a 5,000-page charge sheet against Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan, who was arrested on his way to Hathras in the wake of the alleged rape case in September, and charged him under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act or UAPA.

Seven others, three of whom were arrested with Kappan, who were nabbed later have also been charged under the UAPA.

The Case

Kappan and three others were arrested on 5 October while on their way to Hathras after the alleged gang rape and murder of a Dalit woman for their alleged links with Popular Front of India (PFI). The police claimed that acting on a tip, they had intercepted their car at a toll plaza.

In the FIR, the UP Police charged them with sedition and Section 17 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, which pertains to punishment for raising funds for a terrorist act.

The police said that during interrogation, it had come to the fore that the four had links with the Popular Front of India (PFI) and its associate organisation Campus Front of India (CFI).

What Does the Charge Sheet Say?

The charge sheet has been accepted and the court has fixed May 1 as the next date of hearing.

The charge sheet says material collected from cellphones and laptops of the accused, corroborate that they were trying to spread disharmony in the state by raking up crimes in Hathras.

As per the charge sheet, documents were collected during searches at the office of PFI in Delhi.

ADG (law and order) Prashant Kumar confirmed that a charge sheet had been submitted, but a probe in the case was still underway.

(With IANS inputs)