Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan gets bail in PMLA case; to walk out of jail after two years

Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan, who was arrested in connection with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), got bail on Friday in a money-laundering case from the Allahabad High Court. 

Kappan, a reporter for Malayalam news portal Azhimukham, and secretary of the Delhi unit of Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ), who had been granted bail earlier in an Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) case by the Supreme Court, will walk out of jail soon.

The journalist was arrested while on his way to UP's Hathras to report on a Dalit woman's rape and murder two years ago. 

Kappan had already got bail in the terror case from the Supreme Court in September



filed under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and other related laws but remained in jail in Lucknow.

Earlier this month, a court in Lucknow had framed charges against him and six others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), which meant the trial could finally begin. The other accused are KA Rauf Sherif, Atikur Rahman, Masud Ahmad, Mohammad Alam, Abdul Razzak and Ashraf Khadir.

The police have claimed that these men are members of the since-banned organisation Popular Front of India and its student wing, Campus Front of India (CFI).

However, the journalists had denied any involvement in terror acts or financing and argued that they were travelling to Hathras only for journalistic work.