Islamist organisation Popular Front of India celebrated the release of controversial journalist Siddique Kappan, who was granted bail by the Supreme Court earlier last week after being arrested in 2020 arrested while he was allegedly proceeding to cover the Hathras case of alleged rape & murder of a 19-year-old Dalit woman, was using the garb of journalism to create a caste divide and law & order disturbance in the state.
PFI chairman O M A Salam issued a statement hailing the apex court’s decision to grant bail to Kappan and said it was a relief for people everywhere who voiced for justice.
Bail to Siddique Kappan a source of relief: Popular Front#ReleaseAllPoliticalPrisoners #PopularFrontOfIndia #SiddiqueKappan pic.twitter.com/cc7K9CFeqY
— Popular Front of India (@PFIOfficial) September 9, 2022
“The judgement will reaffirm the trust in the judiciary and is a source of hope for political prisoners across the country”, Salam said as per the official Twitter account of PFI that shared its chairman’s statement over Kappan’s release.
Salam, who leads the organisation accused of grievous crimes, including arranging funds to carry out violent protests in India, said the charges against Kappan were fabricated and that the UP police had been obstructing his bail to deflect public outrage from the gang rape that had taken place in the Hathras district.
“Right-minded people in the country and outside have voiced against the unjust incarceration of Kappan and this is a moment of relief for them all. Let’s hope that this will end the ordeal of Kappan and his family soon and lead to the freedom of other innocents” Salam said.
The statement celebrating Kappan’s release came from PFI months after liberals embedded in mainstream media organisations desperately tried to portray the contentious journalist as a stellar scribe wronged by the state and attempted to scrub clean his links with the Islamist outfit.
Best friend of Siddique Kappan threatening witnesses of “dire consequences”
Meanwhile, a report published in Janmabhumi highlighted how Kappan’s friends and associates have felt empowered after the court ordered his bail earlier last week. According to the report, Kappan’s best friend, Rasheeduddin Alappatta, is threatening the witnesses in the Kappan case. Rasheeduddin is the former Delhi Bureau Chief of Media One. Threats have been made against the Manorama correspondent and two other journalists. A Facebook post has been posted with the threat of ‘dire consequences’ to witnesses testifying in the Kappan case.
Rasheed has reportedly said that Kappan told his wife that journalists with Manorama and other organisations had tipped the UP Police during his visit to Hathras close to two years ago. As per Rasheed, Kappan was framed by those involved with the Journalists’ Union and had worked at Media One and Manorama.
It is worth noting that Rasheeduddin is the same man who conducted interviews with Kashmiri terrorists, videos of which were submitted by Pakistan to the UN to back their efforts in maligning the Indian Armed Forces and accusing them of committing atrocities against the natives.
SC grants bail to Siddique Kappan
On 9th September 2022, the Supreme Court granted bail to so-called journalist Siddique Kappan who is accused of planning to incite riots over the Hathras case. The court has asked him to deposit his passport and mark regular attendance at the police station as he is released on bail close to 2 years after his arrest.
Siddique Kappan was arrested by the UP Police on October 5, 2020, while he was proceeding to cover the Hathras case where a 19-year-old Dalit woman had died after a strangulation attempt. He was arrested along with three other persons, under stringent sections of UAPA and sedition charges for attempting to create a caste conflict in the state amidst the Hathras case controversy.
