Kafeel Khan wants his medical job back, but feels unsafe under Yogi Adityanath rule

Kafeel Khan addresses a press conference, in Jaipur on Thursday. (Photo by Rohit Jain Paras)

Kafeel Khan, who was released from Mathura Jail two days ago on the direction of the High Court, has said that he will ask the Yogi Adityanath government to reinstate him to his job in the state medical services. Addressing a press conference in Jaipur on Thursday, Khan said that he will write to the Chief Minister seeking revocation of his suspension.

Khan was a pediatrician at Gorakhpur’s BRD Medical College and Hospital. He hit headlines in 2017 after several children died at the hospital due to the lack of oxygen cylinders. He was subsequently placed under suspension.

“I will be soon writing a letter requesting him that my job be given back to me. Since the last three years, I have been suspended. I want to contribute in the battle against Coronavirus since I have 10 years of experience in handling cases in intensive care units,” Khan said.

Khan addressed the media a day after he was granted bail by the Allahabad High Court. The Allahabad HC dropped the National Security Act (NSA) slapped against him. He was arrested for provocative speech at the Aligarh Muslim University during anti-CAA protest and lodged at Mathura jail.

Khan walked free on late Tuesday night from Mathura jail. Khan was earlier granted bail in February by a competent court and he was supposed to be released. But he was not released for four days after the NSA was invoked against him. Under the NSA, a person can be detained without a charge for up to one year if authorities feel that the person is a threat to national security or law and order. Khan spent over six months in jail under the NSA.

Khan termed the Allahabad High Court judgment as historic and said he is hopeful that no other innocent person goes to jail. The doctor said that after being released from the jail, he and his family entered Rajasthan as his family felt that they ‘will be safe in the state as it has a Congress government’.

“I have been subjected to state-sponsored victimisation. My family has been harassed over the last few years. Businesses of my brothers were made to shut down and we were broken financially,” he said.

He further alleged that he was targeted by the government to protect the people responsible for the death of children in the BRD Hospital tragedy at Gorakhpur in 2017.