UP govt may frame me again, says Kafeel Khan after midnight release
Dr Kafeel Khan, who was released from Mathura jail late at midnight, after the Allahabad High Court quashed his detention on Tuesday (September 1), has said it is only a matter of time before a “stubborn” Uttar Pradesh government frames him in another case.
“In Ramayana, Maharshi Valmiki had said that the Raja (king) should act for Raj Dharma. In Uttar Pradesh, the Raja is not doing Raj Dharma but is doing Baal Hatth (being stubborn like a child),” Khan said taking a dig at the Yogi Adityanath government.
Speaking to PTI after his release from the jail, Khan, however, thanked the court for his release. “I will always remain thankful to all my well-wishers, who raised their voice for my release. The administration was not ready for release, but because of the duaa (prayers) of people, I have been released,” he said.
Dr Kafeel Khan released from Mathura jail following conditional bail granted to him by Allahabad High Court.
He was booked under National Security Act & arrested from Mumbai in Jan this year for his alleged provocative speech at AMU in Dec 2019 during anti-CAA protests. pic.twitter.com/V0kXf7TkkJ
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) September 1, 2020
He said he was apprehensive that the government can frame him in any other case, and claimed that he and his family had to face many hardships as the state government was “after” him because of the oxygen issue in BRD Medical College.
Quashing Khan’s detention under NSA, the Allahabad High Court had ordered his immediate release on Tuesday. Following the court’s order, Khan was released from Mathura jail late on Tuesday night. “Mathura jail administration informed at around 11 pm that Dr Kafeel will be released, and around midnight, he was released,” Khan’s lawyer Irfan Ghazi told PTI.
Khan told the media that he would now work for the flood-affected people in Bihar and Assam.
Related news: Allahabad High Court orders release of Dr Kaafil Khan
The bench, comprising Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh, passed the order on a petition filed by Khan’s mother Nuzhat Parveen. The petition alleged that Khan was granted bail in February by a competent court and he was supposed to be released on bail. However, he was not released for four days and the NSA was subsequently invoked against him. Hence, his detention was illegal, the petition argued.
Khan was jailed on charges of giving an incendiary speech at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) during the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) protests in December last year. A paediatrician by profession, he first hit the headlines in 2017 as the doctor who saved children by arranging emergency oxygen cylinders at Gorakhpur’s BRD Medical College. However, later he along with nine other doctors and staff members faced action for the deaths of several kids due to lack of oxygen cylinders. All the others have been released. A state government probe had cleared Khan of all major charges, prompting him to seek an apology from the Yogi Adityanath government.
The doctor had alleged that an institutional failure had led to the deaths of the children. He subsequently faced threats, cases and even his family members were attacked, which the doctor dubbed as political vendetta on the part of the state government.
(With inputs from agencies)
