On Tuesday, Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) demanded Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to release Siddique Kappan, a Kerala-based journalist. Kappan was arrested along with three others on Monday by the UP police while they were heading from Delhi to Hathras.
Kappan, secretary of KUWJ Delhi unit native of Malappuram in Kerala, reports for Malayalam online news sites from Delhi including azhimukham.com. He is an elected secretary of the KUWJ.
Kappan along with the three others, namely, Masood Ahmed,Alam and Ateeq-ur-Rehman, were travelling in a car to report on the situation in Hathras where a 19-year-old dalit girl was gang-raped and murdered by upper caste men, when they were taken into custody by the Uttar Pradesh police from Hathras toll plaza.
The police have seized their laptops, mobile phones and allegedly some literature which ‘could have an impact on peace and order’. The UP police have also claimed that Kappan and three others were arrested for their alleged links to the Popular Front of India (PFI), an Islamic outfit.
The union said that Kappan was only trying to do his duty as a reporter. There is no information forthcoming from the police over the detention of Kappan and three others.
The Union wrote a letter saying efforts to contact the journalist were unsuccessful.
“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 have not provided any information so far on taking him into custody,” reads the letter.
The opposition has been demanding the resignation of Yogi Adityanath for his government’s irresponsible handling of the rape and murder, which triggered widespread outrage across the country and over the world now.