Hope to attend my daughter’s birthday this year: Dr. Kafeel Khan

Image Courtesy:telegraphindia.com

Dr Kafeel Khan, detained under National Security Act (NSA) for delivering a speech during a protest against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) has penned down a heartfelt letter from behind the bars. He has been lodged in Mathura jail since January; while he was granted bail by a court, immediately he was charged under National Security Act and his detention is being extended every 3 months and can be extended until February without framing charges against him. Currently, his detention has been extended until November.

The letter has been written in Hindi. Here’s the translated version:

My dear fellow Indians,

The government says that if I am released from jail, there would be a law and order crisis. Why will I disturb law and order? Am I a criminal? If I am released, first of all I would tour Bihar, Assam and Kerala since a post flood crisis situation has emerged and would do everything that a doctor and patriot would do to help contain the spread of the pandemic. As a Covid warrior I would have helped in containing the spread of the coronavirus- would have done some research to help the government find a new medicine, new treatment.

The BRD College (Gorakhpur) incident completed 3 years this August. The life that I spent saving children’s life, the government’s stubbornness is keeping me away from my children. Behind these silent walls of this prison, my heart keeps yearning for my mother, wife and children. I don’t eat well, I can’t even cry, I just want to hug them and weep; I just want to tightly hug my daughter, my son, who I hear has started walking and talking.

I wish to peacefully sleep in my mother’s lap, hug my siblings for hours. I wonder why life is taking a test. As a free individual I was always busy in medical camps and taking care of little children and was away from my own, and ever since this government has come to power, false cases are being made out against me and I am being kept in jail and tortured. I wouldn’t even call this government’s arrogance, this is a childlike stubbornness, as saint Valmiki had said.

I have been married for 5 years and I have spent about 2.5 years in jail, but my wife is strong and she is standing with me. They have destroyed my family financially, my brother was attacked, elder brother’s business has shut. We have been made to go around in circles, lower court to high court, to supreme court, back to high court, we have been made miserable. Why? For what reason? Why are they scared of me, what have I done so that I have been charged under the National Security Act?

I am thankful for your (public) support and I hope the government leaves its arrogance behind and gives me a chance to serve the nation. I hope I will be able to attend my daughter’s birthday this time. JAI HIND JAI BHARAT

Dr. Kafeel Khan

There’s still a flickering flame of hope for Khan as his habeas corpus petition, filed by his mother, is pending before the Allahabad High Court and the Supreme Court has ordered that the hearing be heard expeditiously, preferably within15 days. However, this order came on August 11 and 15 days have already passed since this order, yet the case has not been heard on its merits even once. Firstly, the high court had not received original case records from the apex court, from where the case was transferred and secondly, the government is filing some or the other document at every hearing, thus delaying the outcome of the case. The case will next be heard on August 27. The court said it will go through the original record of the proceedings under National Security Act, 1980 which resulted in the detention of Khan as well as the extension of the detention.

The letter in Hindi may be read here.