Trouble for alleged journalist Siddique Kappan began in October 2020 when he set out for Uttar Pradesh with a sinister agenda. Hiding his real identity as an active office bearer of Islamist organization Popular Front of India (PFI), under the guise of journalism associated with Malayalam news outlet ‘Tejas’ he along with three others headed towards U.P. to cover the Hathras case of alleged rape & murder of a 19-year-old Dalit woman. On their way the four of them were apprehended and arrested by the U.P. Police under sections of UAPA and sedition charges for attempting to create a caste-conflict in the state amidst the ongoing Hathras case controversy.
Along with Kappan and his colleagues, four others from different part of UP were arrested. Namely, Siddiqui of Nagla in Muzaffarnagar, Masood Ahmed of Jarwal in Bahraich district, and Alam of Kotwali area in Rampur district.
Siddique Kappan charged under various sections such as Sections 17 and 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Section 124A (sedition), Section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on the ground of religion) and Section 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings) of Indian Penal Code and Sections 65, 72 and 75 of the Information Technology Act for attempting to create a caste-conflict in the state has been finding it hard to convince the Mathura court and later, the High Court in Allahabad to grant him bail.
Meanwhile in February 2021, the central agency ED chargesheeted Siddique and five other PFI members in a money laundering case. The Enforcement Directorate has stated in its charge sheet that Siddique Kappan, CFI leader Rauf Sherif and other accused collected overseas funds to the tune of ₹1.36 crores and sent it back to India through fraudulent transactions. They also stressed that the ill-gotten money was used for funding anti-CAA protests, and violence during the Anti-CAA riots.
“The visit of these PFI/CFI members (to Hathras) was under the instructions of K. A. Rauf Sherif, national general secretary of the CFI and a member of the PFI, and funds for the same were also provided,” the charge sheet emphasised. It further stated, “Rauf and his PFI/CFI associates also received and possessed the said proceeds of crime in their bank accounts as well as in the form of cash.”
In 2022, The High Court of Allahabad in denying Siddique bail, observed that he had no business being in Hathras, it said “It has come up in the investigation that the applicant had no work at Hathras. The State machinery was at tenterhooks owing to the tension prevailing due to various types of information being viral across all forms of media, including the internet. The said sojourn of the applicant with co-accused persons who do not belong to media fraternity is a crucial circumstance going against him.”
It agreed with the ED on the element of financial malpractice to the case “The tainted money being used by the applicant and his colleagues cannot be ruled out.”
The Lucknow Bench prosecution said “The said persons are said to have been collecting funds and running a website ‘Carrd.com’. It was also revealed that the said collected funds were used to break the social harmony and incite violence. The pamphlets read as ‘AM I NOT INDIAS DAUGHTER MADE WITH Carrd etc. It was also found that the incident of mob lynching, exodus of labourers and the Kashmir issues were also highlighted through the same website. The website also imparts training pertaining to concealing one’s identity during demonstrations and ways to incite violence. The website was found to be full of misinformation, thereby distorting true facts. There was another website operated by the laptop which had the heading ‘Justice for Hathras’.”
The Police found incriminating evidence of Siddique’s WhatsApp chats with General Secretary of PFI Kamal KP. The order reads “[The chats] also revealed about the alleged workshop having been conducted by the applicant and other co-accused persons. The said workshop is stated to have been conducted to incite riots across the country by raking up issues of CAA and Babri Masjid demolition.”
Kappan has challenged the Allahabad High Court’s order, on August 2, dismissing his bail application and approached the Apex Court seeking bail. Kappan’s plea, filed through his counsel Advocate Harris Beeran, was mentioned before a bench presided by Chief Justice of India N V Ramana, who directed that it be listed before an appropriate bench on August 26.
The case of Siddique Kappan gets murkier with passing years. With central agencies like ED, NIA involved and the case being now linked with the larger goals of PFI and its ‘India Vision 2047’ it would be a surprise if Siddique gets any relief from the Supreme Court of India.
