A Mathura Court on Friday rejected the bail plea of three men who were booked and arrested along with a Kerala journalist while they were going to a village in Hathras to meet the family members of an alleged gang rape and murder victim.
Also read: Hathras gang rape | A long caste feud, a horrific crime, and a sudden cremation
Initially detained on October 5 under Section 151 of the CrPc, all the four men were later booked under sections 124-A (sedition), sections 153A (promoting enmity), 295 (outraging religious feelings) of IPC and sections 65, 72 and 75 of the IT Act.
Eventually, the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967 (UAPA) was also invoked against them. Police claimed that all were part of Popular Front of India (PFI) and Campus Front of India (CFI).
Judge Mayur Jain cited the gravity of charges while rejecting the bail applications Atif-ur-Rahman, Masood Ahmad, and Mohammad Alam. The Court delivered three separate orders but all of them stated that the bail pleas were liable to be rejected due to the embargo created under Section 43-D (5) of the UAPA that the Court could not grant bail.
The three along with Delhi-based journalist Siddiqiue Kappan are currently lodged in Mathura jail.
Defence lawyer Madhuvan Chaturvedi said they will approach the High Court for the bail.
“A habeas corpus petition of the three men is already listed in the Allahabad High Court and the hearing is on November 17,” he said.
Mr. Kappan’s petition is listed in the Supreme Court and is likely to be heard on November 16.
