Jailed journalist Siddique Kappan’s mother, Khadija Kutty, died on Friday at her home in Malappuram, Kerala, at age 90, media organisations reported. Kappan is currently lodged in Mathura jail in Uttar Pradesh.

Khadija had been unwell after undergoing a major operation in 2020. In February, the Supreme Court granted Kappan five-day interim bail to meet his mother. In January, he was allowed to make a 10-minute video call to Khadija, who was bedridden at the time, but she was unable to respond or look at the screen due to the condition of her health.

Kappan’s wife told Newslaundry at the time: “She keeps asking about her son.”

Kappan was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police on October 5 last year, when he was on his way to report on the Hathras gangrape and murder. He was booked under charges of sedition and UAPA.

On Tuesday, a Mathura court had dropped breach of peace charges against the journalist. Last month, he was shifted to AIIMS for better treatment after testing positive for Covid and having health issues. His wife had also claimed that Kappan had been chained in the Mathura hospital and was so weak that he had collapsed in the washroom.

Kappan's case mirrors what happened to student activist Natasha Narwal. Narwal, who was charged under the UAPA in connection with the Delhi riots case, had got interim bail a day after her father passed away due to Covid on May 9.