The ATS informed a special NIA court on Thursday, 15 May, that the journalist was reportedly part of a core WhatsApp group connected to CPI (Maoist) central committee member Murali Kannempilly and had worked for a Maoist front organisation.
Published May 16, 2025 | 12:35 PM ⚊ Updated May 16, 2025 | 12:35 PM
Rejaz M Sheeba Sydeek.
Synopsis: Kerala journalist Rejaz M Sydeek, 26, was arrested on 8 May over alleged links to banned outfits like CPI (Maoist) and JKLF. The Maharashtra ATS has taken over the investigation, citing recovered digital evidence and suspected Maoist affiliations. A female acquaintance is also under scrutiny. The court granted only three days’ custody, directing ATS to submit proper documentation.
The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has formally taken over the investigation against Kerala-based independent journalist Rejaz M Sheeba Sydeek, who has been in custody for a week over alleged links to banned outfits including Hizbul Mujahideen, JKLF, and the CPI (Maoist).
The investigation agencies also invoked UAPA against him. Sydeek was booked under Sections 38 and 39 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
The ATS informed a special NIA court on Thursday, 15 May, that the journalist was reportedly part of a core WhatsApp group connected to CPI (Maoist) central committee member Murali Kannempilly and had worked for a Maoist front organisation.
Investigators also claimed to have recovered several incriminating materials, including propaganda content and a secret JKLF document.
However, the court pulled up Maharashtra Police for failing to submit the seizure panchnama related to evidence collected from Kerala on 11 May.
Granting only three days’ custody instead of the requested ten, the court directed the ATS to produce the necessary documents without delay.
Meanwhile, a female acquaintance of Sydeek, a law student from Bihar currently based in Nagpur, has also come under the scanner. Officials hinted that she might be booked soon over suspected revolutionary affiliations, though she has so far cooperated with questioning.
Multiple agencies, including the Kerala ATS, Intelligence Bureau, and state and central intelligence units, are now said to be jointly probing the case. Authorities are also examining Sydeek’s alleged links with Kabeer Kala Manch and individuals associated with the Elgar Parishad case during his visit to Pune in April 2023.
Rejaz, 26, was arrested on 8 May by Nagpur’s Lakadganj Police while travelling from Delhi to Kerala. The arrest followed a series of social media posts critical of recent military operations, including Operation Sindoor in Kashmir and Operation Kagaar in Chhattisgarh.
Authorities claim the posts contained content glorifying banned groups and inciting anti-Army sentiments. The custody extension was granted by Magistrate Nilesh B Patil after police submitted that further interrogation was needed based on digital evidence seized from Rejaz’s residence in Kerala.
The search, conducted jointly by Maharashtra Police and the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), led to the seizure of multiple electronic devices including mobile phones, hard disks, memory cards, and pen drives.
In its remand note, the police claimed Rejaz had attended a press conference in Delhi on World Press Freedom Day organised by the Campaign Against State Repression (CASR), which authorities allege to be a front for banned Maoist outfits.
He is also accused of wearing a T-shirt featuring seditious slogans and figures on a watchlist of Maoist sympathisers compiled by the Maharashtra State Intelligence Bureau.
The FIR includes charges under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including 149, 192, 353(1)(b), 353(2), and 353(3), as well as Section 67 of the IT Act, 2000.
(Edited by Sumavarsha, with inputs from Dileep V Kumar)
