Lucknow / Mathura, September 2
The Uttar Pradesh government, instead of observing ‘Raj Dharma’, was indulging in ‘Baal Hatth’ or childish stubbornness and could incriminate him in another case, said Dr. Kafeel Khan after being released from Mathura jail.
The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday overturned Khan’s detention under the National Security Law and ordered his immediate release. Following the court’s order, Khan was released from Mathura jail on Tuesday night.
“The Mathura jail administration reported around 11 pm that Dr. Kafeel would be released, and around midnight, he was released,” said Khan’s lawyer, Irfan Ghazi.
Speaking after his release from jail, Khan thanked the court. “I will always be grateful to all my supporters, who raised their voices for my release. The administration was not ready to be released, but due to people’s prayers, I was released. “
Delving into the rule of Yogi Adityanath, Khan said: “In Ramayana, Maharshi Valmiki had said that the Raja (king) should act on behalf of ‘Raj Dharma'”. He also said he was concerned that the government could incriminate him in any other case, and claimed that he and his family had to face many difficulties as the state government was “chasing” him because of the oxygen problem at BRD Medical College.
Khan said he now wants to help people affected by the floods in Bihar and Assam. The court, consisting of Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Judge Saumitra Dayal Singh, approved the order on a petition filed by Khan’s mother, Nuzhat Parveen.
The petition alleged that Khan was released on bail in February by a competent court and was supposed to be released on bail. However, he was not released for four days and the NSA was subsequently invoked against him. Therefore, his detention was illegal, the petition argued.
Khan had been in jail since January after he gave a supposedly provocative speech at the Muslim University of Aligarh (AMU) during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) in December last year.
Kafeel Khan had made headlines for the first time in 2017 after the death of several children due to a lack of oxygen cylinders at the BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur, where he worked as a pediatrician.
Initially, he was hailed as a children’s savior for organizing emergency oxygen cylinders. However, later on, he faced action along with nine other doctors and hospital staff, all of whom were released on bail.
A state government investigation had cleared Khan of all important charges, prompting him to seek an apology from the Yogi Adityanath government. The doctor had alleged that an institutional failure had caused the death of the children.
Later, he faced threats, cases and even his relatives were attacked, which the doctor described as political revenge on the part of the state government. PTI
