Kerala Journalist Behind Bars A Month After Getting Bail Due To Red Tape

Sources said Siddique Kappan cannot be released today since the District Judge of the special court on Prevention of Money Laundering was busy with a bar council election.

Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan, arrested on terror charges, has not been released even a month after he got bail due to bureaucratic lapses.  Sources said he cannot be released today since the District Judge of the Special Court on Prevention of Money Laundering was busy with a Bar Council election.

He was expected to walk out this evening after his sureties were verified. His lawyers have been waiting for his release order, sources said.

Siddique Kappan was arrested in October 2021 while he was on way to Hathras, Uttar Pradesh,  to report on the situation following the alleged gang rape and death of a 20-year-old woman from the Scheduled Castes, which triggered outrage across the country.

He was accused of sedition and charged under the stringent anti-terror law UAPA. In February 2021, the Enforcement Directorate filed a money laundering case against Kappan, accusing him of receiving money from the banned Popular Front of India.