The family of Dr. Kafeel Khan, the prime accused in the death of dozens of children at the BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur last year, said on Saturday that the jailed doctor’s health was deteriorating in prison and that his bail had been rejected six times.
Urges govt. to consider
Addressing a press conference here, Dr. Shabista Khan, the wife of Dr. Kafeel Khan, alleged that the prison authorities were not giving proper medical care to Dr. Kafeel Khan and his colleagues. Citing her husband’s ailing health, Dr. Shabista urged the government to consider his deteriorating condition as an emergency and grant him bail on medical grounds.
In August 2017, around 60 children allegedly died due to lack of oxygen in the government-run medical college and hospital in Uttar Pradesh in a span of two days. Dr. Kafeel Khan, who was in-charge of the encephalitis ward, was booked for attempt to murder.
“My husband’s health is deteriorating every day. He is a heart patient and his blood pressure is running high with medicines. He had a severe chest pain so we pressed the authorities to take him to the hospital for a check-up. An ECG and a blood test was done, and some more tests are scheduled for next week. We haven’t been informed about the results,” said Dr. Shabista.
‘Falsely framed’
Dr. Khan’s family had applied for bail on six different occasions in the past seven months.
“We have been denied bail every time and the reasons have been invalid or silly,” Dr. Shabista said.
Talking about Dr. Khan’s alleged involvement in the case, his brother, Adil Khan, said, “He has been falsely framed in the case. It is because of the lapses of the management that led to the death of children. My brother should be seen as a hero for working on his day-off and spending money from his own pocket for the needs of the hospital.”
Hearing adjourned
Dr. Khan’s bail plea was supposed to be heard on Friday, but the court adjourned the hearing to April 25, citing errors in the bail plea documents, said the family.
“All crimes that he is accused of are bailable offences. We request the court to either grant bail or dismiss the plea. Adjourning hearings will only keep us hanging and justice will not be served. In a case where the plea is dismissed, we will surely knock the doors of the Supreme Court,” Dr. Shabista said.
