“I used to weep a lot in prayers in jail and ask from Allah why it has happened with me when I am totally innocent”, he said in an emotional vein. “But when I came out, I found that lot of people prayed and fasted for my welfare. I was also told that many people performed “tawaf” or circumambulation for him around “Kaaba” in Makkah. That strengthened my resolve to fight for truth”, says Dr. Kafeel Khan.
Syed Khalique Ahmed & Masihuzzama Ansari
NEW DELHI—Dr Kafeel Khan, suspended assistant professor of the BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur, is all set to start medical camps in flood-hit areas of Bihar and Assam from October 2, which happens to be the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi.
A paediatrician by profession, Dr. Khan was recently absolved of the charges under National Security Act (NSA) slapped against him for making speeches against Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) at Aligarh in December last year.
Beaten by jail staff, denied food and water in Mathura prison
He was incarcerated in Mathura Jail in which, he alleged, he was not only denied food and water for several days but was also subjected to physical and mental torture by the jail staff on the ground that he is “anti-national” and “made calls in foreign countries against the interest of the nation” and had also prepared “a special type of powder to kill children”.
“In BRD and Bahraich cases, jail staff did not even touch me. But in Aligarh case, I was beaten up in judicial custody, not given food and water for several days”, he alleged, during a telephonic interview to India Tomorrow team from Jaipur where he is currently living.
He was released from jail on September 2 midnight after the Allahabad High Court dismissed charges under NSA and also cancelled all government orders for extension of his detention.
“More than 150 policemen were stationed outside the Mathura prison when I was released at midnight. They were not for my security”, he said.
Dr. Khan, who feared for his life in UP, drove straightaway, after his release, to Jaipur in Rajasthan where he was provided accommodation and security. “Though all political parties, barring BJP helped me, but I am especially thankful to Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi ji who advised me to shift to Rajasthan which is just a few kilometres from Mathura and also promised me accommodation and security”, Dr. Khan said.
Being away from family and children pained Dr. Khan the most
He is temporarily living in Jaipur with his wife Dr. Shabista Khan, a dentist and two kids-three-year-old Zabreen Khan (son) and 15 months old Oliver Khan (daughter). His wife ran her own dental clinic in Gorakhpur before shifting to Jaipur to be with her husband.
Stating that he is temporarily staying in Jaipur, he said that he was feeling happy to be with his family and children after a long gap. “Even since I got married in 2015, I spent most of my time in jail. In fact, my children could not recognize me when I came out of Mathura jail on September 2. I was first arrest in August 2017 after the BRD College tragedy in which several children lost their life due to lack of oxygen and spent several months in jail. It was the time when my son could not even walk. As a paediatrician, I gave treatment to hundreds of children but I could not look after my own children because of injustice that happened with me and I was put in jail for no fault of mine”, he said, stating that “to be away with small children is the biggest pain for a parent”. However, he said, “Somebody has to fight against injustice”.
UP Govt doing injustice
Alleging that he was being subjected to unjust harassment by the UP government in BRD Medical College case, he said that all those arrested in this case, including College principal and his wife, had been reinstated and allowed to return to their jobs. “But I am the only person who has not been reinstated despite the fact that I got clean chit in eight inquiries instituted against me”, he said.
“Now, the government has instituted another inquiry on charges that I am speaking against the government despite being a government officer”, Dr. Khan said.
Dr Khan asks for his reinstatement
After his release from Mathura Jail, Dr. Khan wrote a letter on September 18 to UP government, requesting for his reinstatement. “I wrote that I am ready to resume my duties and I want to work. Please reinstate me”, he said. “But there is no response so far”, Dr. Khan lamented.
Dr. Khan said that if the government possessed any evidence that warranted his removal service, they could remove him from service. “When Kamalnath government was there in Madhya Pradesh, I was given an opportunity by Congress leader Digvijay Singh ji to join the state government service. But I required no objection certificate (NOC) from the previous employer, that is, the UP government because I still continue to be on their staff though under suspension. But the UP government did not issue me NOC and so, I could not accept the offer”, said Dr. Khan.
“I request the UP government either to reinstate me like other staffers of the BRD Medical College or dismiss me from job so that I am free to take up job somewhere else but prolonging my suspension on one or the other pretext and instituting inquiries that has nothing to do with my job and profession, amounts to my harassment”, he told this news portal.
Peoples’ support Dr. Khan’s resolve to fight for truth
Asked about his experiences when he was first imprisoned in BRD Medical College case, he said, “I used to weep a lot in prayers in jail and ask from Allah why it has happened with me when I am totally innocent”, he said in an emotional vein. “But when I came out, I found that lot of people prayed and fasted for my welfare. I was also told that many people performed “tawaf” or circumambulation for him around “Kaaba” in Makkah”.
“That strengthened my resolve to fight for truth”, he asserted.
Media calling him “anti-national”
He said that he was feeling pained by certain media outlets like Arnab Goswami’s Republic TV and others calling him “anti-national” after he wrote a letter to United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC), thanking it for its appeal to the Government of India to release all those who were arrested in connection with new citizenship laws. “I nowhere mentioned the word Muslim for myself in the letter. I only expressed my gratitude to someone who supported my fight against injustice”, he said, urging the media to read his entire letter and not just comment on one portion or one sentence of the letter.
