She added that his 90-years-old mother is also concerned about him and “she is always in tears”
By Hasan Akram
New Delhi: The Uttar Pradesh Police tortured journalist Sidduque Kappan and compelled him to say that he was sent to Hathras district by CPM MPs, alleged his wife Raihanath Siddique while speaking to Muslim Mirror on phone.
They also asked him that how much close he is with Rahul Gandhi and when did he meet Zakir Naik last?
Mrs. Siddique cited observation from her conversation with him on phone. She added, “They said you are a beef eating Muslim from Kerala. Why are you sympathetic to Dalits in UP?”
Mr. Kappan was arrested on 5 October when he, along with three others, was going to Hathras district. In Hathras, a Dalit woman was raped by upper caste men and after her death, she was cremated by police personnel without her family’s consent, which had triggered protests in northern parts of India.
Mrs. Siddiqui said that the family was unaware of his arrest on the day. “We were in utter panic” because there was no call from him on that day. He normally call us every day in the evening,” she added.
The family came to know about the arrest next day and was able to communicate with him only after a month following the Supreme Court’s intervention.
“He revealed on phone that the police tortured him in the first two days (5th and 6th October). They slapped on his face, dragged him on the ground and not allowed to sleep,” she stated.
The police have imposed UAPA charges on him and they continue to label “false” charges against him like linking him with Delhi riots or showing his alleged involvement in money laundering cases.
“Despite all these dirty games, I have hope in the Supreme Court and in the law of the land. We hope that our husband will get acquitted soon and will join us and our three minor kids,” she said.
She added that his 90-years-old mother is also concerned about him and “she is always in tears”.
Mrs. Kappan addressed a press conference at Kozhikode in Kerala on Tuesday. At the event, she urged the Kerala government to intervene in the matter. She would protest in front of the state secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram in the first week of January to exert pressure on Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to take measures to save her husband.
Kerala Union of Working Journalists has approached the Supreme Court seeking his release. The top court, which granted bail to Republic TV anchor Arnab Goswami in the first hearing in an abetment to suicide case, has not managed to grant bail to Mr Kappan despite several hearings.
