Lucknow: Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan has been released on bail from Lucknow District Jail after two years on Thursday. Siddique Kappan was booked by the UP government in connection with a Prevention of Money Laundering Act case. Kappan walked out of the Lucknow jail after completing the formalities related to the submission of sureties in the special PMLA court here.
“I have come out of jail after 28 months. I want to thank the media for supporting me. False allegations were put against me. I am happy to be out now,” the Kerala journalist was quoted as saying by the news agency ANI.
Kappan and three others were arrested in October 2020 while they were on their way to Hathras where a Dalit woman had died allegedly after being raped. According to his lawyer, he was released after the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court verified the two sureties of Rs 1 lakh each he was asked to provide before his release.
Kappan and the other three were accused of trying to instigate violence over the death of the Hathras woman, which had triggered outrage.
Police had alleged that Kappan had links with the now-banned Popular Front of India (PFI) and charged him under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and sections of the Indian Penal Code. In September last, the Supreme Court granted him bail in connection with that case. Howver, he continued to be in jail because of the money laundering case filed by the Enforcement Directorate.
Bureau Report
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