Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, 11 Members of Parliament from Kerala along with Raihanth Kappan, the wife of arrested Kerala-based journalist Siddique Kappan, wrote to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and the Chief Justice of India NV Ramana on Sunday seeking the transfer of Kappan to a hospital in New Delhi from Mathura, Live Law reported.
Kappan was arrested in October 2020 while he was covering the Hathras gang-rape case in Uttar Pradesh.
In the letter to the CJI, Kappan’s wife wrote that he was “chained like an animal to a cot of the Medical College Hospital, Mathura, without mobility” and was unable to eat or visit the bathroom for over the four days besides being very critical.
Kappan had collapsed in the bathroom and sustained serious injuries. He later tested positive for Covid-19.
Following this, the Kerala Union of Working Journalists moved the Supreme Court on April 20 seeking his transfer from Mathura to a hospital in New Delhi for treatment.
“Media is the breath of democracy, and it is an attempt for giving breath to a media person, who is in jail for more than six months, and the Habeas Corpus petition also pending since 6.10.2020. The representation given to Jail Superintendents, Mathura by message is pending,” read Kappan’s wife’s letter.
Citing Kappan’s worsening health condition with pre-existing conditions of diabetes and heart ailments, Vijayan sought Adityanath’s intervention for “humane” treatment. He sought Kappan’s transfer to a super speciality hospital and wrote: “Expert health care, necessary for him, may also be seriously considered by shifting him to another super speciality hospital, where modern life-saving facilities are ensured.”
He added that people and the media fraternity were “anxious” about Kappan’s condition and human rights. He requested Adityanath to ensure that Kappan gets access to medical facilities.
The Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan (@vijayanpinarayi) has written to the UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath (@myogiadityanath) requesting him to ensure expert healthcare and humane treatment to Siddique Kappan. #SiddiqueKappan pic.twitter.com/Q9xb19iUaS
— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) April 25, 2021
On the same day, 11 Members of Parliament from Kerala wrote to the CJI seeking an “urgent” hearing in the matter to “save Shri Kappan’s life”. Expressing utter “shock” on “such grave violation of human rights”, they mentioned how Kappan was “unable to consume food and denied right to a toilet for four days, he has become extremely weak”.
11 Members of Parliament from Kerala write to the Chief Justice of India, N. V. Ramana seeking urgent hearing in the #SiddiqueKappan matter and issuance of necessary orders to shift him from Mathura Medical College to AIIMS. pic.twitter.com/KhQdHg26Nn
— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) April 25, 2021
On September 14, 2020, a 19-year-old Dalit girl was allegedly gang-raped and brutally assaulted by four upper-caste men in Hathras. She succumbed to her injuries on September 29, 2020 in New Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital, which triggered massive outrage and protests across the country. She was hurriedly cremated by the Uttar Pradesh Police in the dead of the night the following day near her village. The rushed manner of the victim’s last rites, which her family alleged was done without their consent, caught the nation’s attention.
Kappan was arrested in October 2020 by the Uttar Pradesh Police for his alleged involvement with the Popular Front of India (PFI). He was reportedly found with material that would “breach peace” in the state and instigate violence. Kappan and three other alleged PFI members were booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and other serious charges.
