Following the direction of the Supreme Court, Kerala journalist and PFI activist Siddique Kappan was shifted to AIIMS, Delhi for better treatment from Mathura amid tight security.
The medical reports of Kappan submitted at the Apex Court claim that he tested Covid-19 positive on April 21. In addition, he had multiple health issues like diabetes, heart ailment, blood pressure and bodily injury. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court directed the state government to shift Kappan to Delhi.
For over a week, Kappan was admitted to a Mathura hospital as he tested positive for Coronavirus. He was later taken back to the Mathura prison when he tested negative.
Meanwhile, the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) has demanded that Solicitor General Tushar Mehta should apologize publicly for his 'baseless statement' about the organisation. During the hearing of Kappan's case, Tushar Mehta reportedly said that "the union is a purported association of journalists, not even a famous one. When this person was arrested, he was carrying a card of 'Tejas' newspaper, which hasn't functioned for years."
On October 5 last year, Kappan was arrested when he was on his way to a Hathras village from Delhi to report the sensational Hathras rape case, where a Dalit girl was allegedly gang-raped and murdered. Three others and also a driver was arrested along with him. Later, they were accused and booked under charges of sedition and UAPA.
