Mathura SDM orders Kerala journalist, three others to furnish peace bond

Pending the furnishing of the surety bond worth Rs one lakh each for their release, SDM Suresh Kumar of Mathura's Mant sub-division remanded journalist Siddique Kappan and three others to judicial custody for 14 days. The SDM ordered them to furnish peace bond under the provisions of section 107 of the Criminal Procedure Code and pending the submission of the surety, remanded them to judicial custody under the provisions of section 116 of the CrPC.

Mathura: A Mathura SDM on Monday ordered a Kerala journalist and three others arrested here on their way to a Hathras village of an alleged gang-rape-cum-murder victim Dalit teen, to furnish a surety bond to keep pace in the society.

Pending the furnishing of the surety bond worth Rs one lakh each for their release, SDM Suresh Kumar of Mathura's Mant sub-division remanded journalist Siddique Kappan and three others to judicial custody for 14 days.

The four are already in judicial custody on charges of various penal and terror offences, including sedition and raising fund for terrorism, slapped later by Mathura police on the allegation that they were PFI activists.

The SDM ordered them to furnish peace bond under the provisions of section 107 of the Criminal Procedure Code and pending the submission of the surety, remanded them to judicial custody under the provisions of section 116 of the CrPC.

Before slapping charges of sedition under section 124A of the Indian Penal Code and various other offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Information Technology Act, the police had initially arrested the four under section 151 of the CrPC on the suspicion of their intention to commit some cognizable offence.

Accused Siddique Kappan, Atiqur Rahman, Alam and Masood, having links with the alleged radical group Popular Front of India and its affiliates and booked under sections 151/107/116 of CrPC have been sent to judicial custody for 14 days by SDM, Mant, said an official release.

The accused, lodged in Mathura jail, appeared before the SDM through video conferencing.

The 14-day judicial custody of the four in the sedition and terror case ends on Tuesday when they are slated to be produced before the judicial magistrate for its further extension.

The four were later booked by the police under sections 124 A (sedition), 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion etc) and 295A (committing deliberate and malicious acts to outrage religious feelings) of the IPC.

The four have also been slapped with section 17 of the UAPA for allegedly raising funds for terror activities, made a cognisable offence under Section 14 of the anti-terror act.

The four have also been booked under section 65, 72 and 76 of the Informational Technology Act respectively pertaining to tampering with any computer source documents, the penalty for breach of confidentiality and privacy and the confiscation of computers used in the offence.

IANS