SC grants 5-day bail to journalist Siddique Kappan to visit ailing mother

The Supreme Court on Monday (February 15) granted five-day bail to journalist Siddique Kappan, arrested on his way to Hathras where a young Dalit woman had died after being allegedly gang-raped, to visit his ailing mother for five days.

A bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde, however, said that during his visit he shall not give any interview to the media, including social media.

The bench, also comprising Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian, said that Siddique will not meet members of the public except his relatives and doctors concerned.

It said Siddique will be escorted by a team of Uttar Pradesh police officers and police at Kerala will cooperate with them.

Kappan was arrested on October 5, 2020 while he was on his way to Hathras, home to the 19-year-old Dalit woman who died after being allegedly gang-raped by four upper-caste men on September 14.

Her cremation at night by the authorities, allegedly without the parents’ consent, had triggered widespread outrage.

The police had said it has arrested four people having alleged links with the PFI in Mathura and identified the arrested persons as Siddique from Malappuram, Atiq-ur Rehman from Muzaffarnagar, Masood Ahmed from Bahraich and Alam from Rampur.