Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday wrote to his Uttar Pradesh counterpart Yogi Adityanath, requesting him to ensure better medical treatment to journalist Siddique Kappan, who has been in the custody of Uttar Pradesh Police since October last year.
"It has been brought to my attention by the Kerala Union of Working Journalist and some of the prominent media persons of national repute that Siddique Kappan, a journalist from Kerala presently in custody under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh is facing severe health problems," wrote Vijayan in his letter to Adityanath.
"It is reported that he is having diabetes and heart ailments. After getting infected with 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 goodself to intervene in the matter so that humane treatment is accorded to Kappan. Expert healthcare necessary for him may also be seriously considered by shifting him to another super specialty hospital, where modern life-saving facilities are ensured. People in general and the media fraternity, in particular, are anxious to know about his predicament and human rights and are very much concerned about his plight. I request you to make sure that he gets all medical facilities," he urged.
Earlier in the day, Kappan's wife Raihanth wrote a letter to the newly appointed Chief Justice of India (CJI) N V Ramana requesting him to immediately pass a release order for her husband as his life is in "extreme danger" in Mathura jail.
The Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) has filed a habeas corpus writ petition before the Supreme Court on April 22 seeking its immediate direction to transfer Kappan from Mathura hospital to AIIMS, New Delhi, due to his ill-health.
Kappan was arrested at a toll plaza near Hathras, while on his way to Hathras in Uttar Pradesh in October last year, in connection with his reporting assignment to cover the alleged gangrape and murder of a 19-year-old girl.
An FIR had been registered under the UAPA in the case against Kappan by the Uttar Pradesh Police.
( With inputs from ANI )
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