For the first time since journalist Siddique Kappan was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police in October 2020, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has intervened in the matter. Following reports of Siddique Kappan, a native of Malappuram district in Kerala, not receiving good medical treatment at a hospital in Mathura, Pinarayi Vijayan shot a letter to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, asking him to take measures to provide expert treatment facilities for the journalist.
The move comes after Siddique Kappan’s wife Raihanath and the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) approached the Supreme Court, revealing the inhumane conditions under which Siddique Kappan is being treated at Mathura Hospital in Uttar Pradesh. The journalist had collapsed in the bathroom at the Mathura prison last week. He sustained injuries and was tested positive for coronavirus too. However, in a letter to Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, his wife said that Siddique Kappan was chained to the hospital bed and was not being allowed to even use the toilet. Both Raihanath and KUWJ requested the apex court to allow the journalist to be shifted to another hospital for better treatment.
“It has come to my attention that Siddique Kappan, a journalist from Kerala, presently in custody under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, is facing severe health problems,” CM Pinarayi wrote in the letter. “It is reported that he is having diabetes and heart ailments. After getting COVID-19, he has been admitted to KVM Hospital, Mathura. He is reportedly being kept chained to his bed even when his health condition is precarious. I request your good self to intervene in the matter so that humane treatment is accorded to Kappan,” Pinarayi Vijayan said.
CM Pinarayi Vijayan also added that expert facilities should be ensured to Kappan and that shifting him to a super-speciality hospital, where modern life-saving facilities are ensured, should be seriously considered. “People in general, and the media fraternity in particular, are anxious to know about his predicament and humans rights and are very much concerned about his plight. I request you to make sure that he gets all medical facilities,” Pinarayi Vijayan added in the letter to Yogi Adityanath.
