The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday finally granted bail to Dr Kafeel Ahmed Khan, who had become a hero after saving hundreds of life single-handedly at Gorakhpur’s BRD Medical College Hospital last year. He was kept in jail for nearly eight months.
Dr Khan was arrested by the UP Police allegedly at the behest of the state’s BJP government. In February, an expose by Janta Ka Reporter had highlighted how to hide its criminal negligence, the UP government may have arrested Dr Khan along with Dr RK Misra and his wife Dr Purnima Shukla.
Quoting the High Court, Live Law website reported that since the charge-sheet was already filed, there was no need of his custody.
A concerted social media campaign was launched few days ago with activists, fellow doctors and campaigners demanding justice for Dr Khan. In his gut-wrenching letter, penned recently, Dr Khan had described what happened at Gorakhpur hospital and why UP CM Adityanath was angry with him.
“8 months in Jail without Bail” Dr Kafeel has written a letter to all of us . #releaseDrKafeel pic.twitter.com/lF1XyZ35Gp
— Md Asif Khan (@imMAK02) April 22, 2018
He had written, “Sometime, I ask myself, “Am I really guilty?” And the answer pops out from the core of my heart – a big NO. The moment I got that WhatsApp message on that fateful 10 August 2017 night, I did everything a doctor, a father, a responsible citizen of India would/should do… I did my level best to save those innocent kids who were dying because of lack of oxygen. I frantically called everyone, I begged, I talked, I ran, I drove, I ordered, I yelled, I screamed, I consoled, I counselled, I spent, I borrowed, I cried.”
Explaining what may have irked Adityanath, who allegedly decided to have him arrested, Dr Khan wrote, “Yogiji was angry because – how this incident came into the media. I swear to my Allah, I did not inform any media person that night. They were already there that night itself.”
A video of Dr Khan being roughed up by the police as he attempted to speak to media during his medical check-up had gone viral recently.