Al Haqeeqa
New Delhi: Journalist Siddique Kappan has been admitted to a hospital after testing positive for Covid-19.
”He has tested positive today. He is present in L2 hospital outside jail in KM Medical college Mathura,” said Shailendra Maitreya, the jail superintendent.
Malayalam media portals reported that lawyer Wills Matthew confirmed the news of his contraction to Kappan’s wife Raihanath. He is currently admitted into the prison hospital, with symptoms of high fever.
Kappan was arrested along with four others in September 2020 when they were on the way to Hathras, where a Dalit girl was brutally raped. The police alleged that they were going there to incite caste riots. Subsequently, a vilification campaign was run by the media against them on the basis of police allegation.
Many international media unions, opposition leaders, and human rights organizations have demanded his immediate release.
The top court has faced criticism as it conducted an instant hearing by a vocational bench and granted bail to Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami in an abetment to suicide case. However, the same court has failed to order Kappan’s release despite several hearings.a
