Arrested in 2020, Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan walks out of UP jail

'I struggled,' Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan said minutes after he walked out of jail on Thursday to camera crews.

Lucknow, Feb 02: Kerala-based journalist Siddique Kappan, who was recently granted bail by the Supreme Court, walked out of jail on Thursday. Two sureties of Rs 1 lakh each were submitted on Wednesday in the special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court. He was released from jail around 9.15 am, Jailor of Lucknow District Jail Rajendra Singh told news agency PTI.

Kappan, who works for a Malayalam language news portal, was traveling to Hathras in 2020 to report on the alleged gang-rape and murder of a Dalit woman when he was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police.

Kappan along with three others - Athikur Rehman, Alam and Masood - was arrested by the police in Mathura for allegedly having links with the Popular Front of India (PFI) and being a part of conspiracy to instigate violence. He was booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Information Technology (IT) Act.

The Supreme Court had earlier granted bail to Kappan. The court had also taken note of the submissions of the Uttar Pradesh government and laid down several conditions for bail, including that he will have to remain in Delhi for the next six weeks after release from the prison and report to Nizamuddin police station in the national capital on Monday every week.

Opposition parties and journalist bodies had welcomed the Supreme Court order granting bail to Kappan. They claimed Kappan was made a soft target by the Uttar Pradesh government and hoped he will also be granted bail in another case filed against him under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

The Dalit woman had died at a Delhi hospital a fortnight after she was allegedly gang-raped on September 14, 2020. She was cremated in the middle of the night in her village.