LUCKNOW / MATHURA: Uttar Pradesh police booked four people on Wednesday, including Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan charged with sedition and other charges at the Maant police station in Mathura, two days after they were detained while on their way to Hathras.
According to the FIR, charges have also been brought under the strict Illegal Activities (Prevention) Law and the TI Law against the four, who were accused by the state police of having ties to the alleged radical group Frente Popular of India and its affiliates.
The four were identified as Kappan, a journalist from Malapuram in Kerala, Atiq-ur-Rehman from Muzaffarnagar, Masood Ahmad from Bahraich and Alam from Rampur.
They were registered on Wednesday under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including 124A (sedition), 153A (Promoting enmity between different groups on the grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and perform acts detrimental to the maintenance of harmony) and 295A (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to offend religious feelings of any kind by insulting their religion or religious beliefs), according to the FIR.
the PFI has been accused of funding protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act across the country earlier this year and UP police had sought a ban on the outfit.
The four were arrested when, according to police, they were on their way to Hathras, where a Dalit woman had died after allegedly being gang-raped.
On video: Kerala journalist and 3 other people booked for sedition by UP police
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