►Arrested on Charges of Hathras Conspiracy

Mathura: The Campus Front student leader Rauf Sharif, who is detained in Mathura jail has reportedly tested positive for COVID. Mathura Jail is now a COVID hot spot in Uttar Pradesh and currently has over 500 COVID patients. Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan, who was arrested in connection with the Hathras case, is also detained in the same jail. Rauf’s wife, Batool, has written a letter to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, demanding necessary measures to ensure proper treatment for Rauf Sharif. In the letter to the Chief Minister, she writes, “False charges have been registered against my husband. My husband has been deliberately targeted using the Hathras case”, she has claimed.

Rauf had been arrested by the Kerala ED officials last December in connection with a money laundering case. He has been granted bail in that case. However, Uttar Pradesh STF officials accused Rauf of conspiring to riot during the Hathras rape case and imprisoned him in Mathura jail.

Presently, Rauf’s family members have accused that he has not been provided with proper treatment in the jail. They have also alleged that he is not being provided with proper food. Rauf has reportedly been placed in a separate jail cell and has been made to sleep on the floor, despite having tested positive for COVID. His health is deteriorating. The family also alleges that their attempt to connect him via video conference to his wife, Batool, who had given birth to a baby girl two months ago, had also failed.