I’m scared, my husband’s life is threatened: Raihanath Kappan, Siddique Kappan’s wife

Photograph by Shahid Tantray for the caravan

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“Sometimes I get tired, then I rise up and stand, [tell myself] this will not do, then I fight again,” Raihanath Kappan, Siddique Kappan’s wife, said.

On 5 October 2020, the freelance journalist Siddique Kappan was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Police while going to report on a brutal gang-rape of a Dalit woman in Hathras. He was booked for sedition and under the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. In prison, his health deteriorated and he tested positive for COVID-19. On 29 April, after being wounded in a fall and testing positive for COVID-19 the Supreme Court ordered that Siddique be transferred to AIIMS, Delhi. He was admitted the next day. Raihanath has been in Delhi for a week hoping to meet him.

On the night of 6 May, Siddique was taken by the UP police back to Mathura jail without informing his family or his lawyer. At present, the condition of his health is unclear.