One more case was registered in Lucknow against suspended Gorakhpur hospital paediatrician Dr Kafeel Khan on the complaint of a local resident alleging that a book written by him was being distributed to incite people against the government and create division in society, police said on Sunday.
Five ‘other’ unidentified persons have also been booked in the case lodged at the city’s Krishna Nagar police station.
Dr Khan first became a household name after the 2017 tragedy at Gorakhpur’s BRD Medical College, where several children died due to lack of oxygen cylinders. While for most Indians, he was hailed as a saviour for arranging emergency oxygen cylinders, he faced criminal action along with nine other doctors and staff members over irregularities in their duty. After months of incarceration, all were finally released on bail.
‘Jail was hell for me,’ he had told Sabrangindia in his first interview after his release in 2018. The interview is in four parts.
Krishna Nagar Station House Officer Jitendra Pratap Singh said, “Dr Kafeel was booked after a local resident alleged a book written by him was being distributed to incite people against government and create division in society.”
The Lucknow police told the media that they have started a probe into the case and are trying to identify the other accused. The case was lodged under Sections 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery to make or transfer any valuable security, or to receive money), 468 (forgery for cheating), 465 (forgery), 471 (using forged as genuine), 504 (insult to provoke breach of peace), 505 (statements causing mischief), 295 (defiling a place of worship to insult a religion), 295-A (malicious acts to outrage religious feelings), and 153-B (assertions prejudicial to national integration) of the IPC.
When contacted by Indian Express over phone, Dr Khan said, “Neither the government nor the police have told me anything about it. The book in question is available on Amazon and has been on sale for two years. I have been staying outside UP for four years. The book in English has been translated by some people into Hindi and Urdu. I don’t know why they have registered a case against me now,” said Khan.
It may be recalled that, in September 2020, the Allahabad High Court revoked charges under National Security Act (NSA) against Khan, and ordered to immediately release him as he had been in a Mathura jail for nearly six months. Khan was accused of delivering a provocative speech at Aligarh Muslim University in December 2019 during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The case against him was lodged for allegedly “disturbing public order’.
Related:
Allahabad HC stays second suspension order against Dr. Kafeel Khan