UP Govt Extends Dr Kafeel Khan’s Detention by Three Months Under NSA

New Delhi, 17 August 2020 [Fik/News Sources]: The Uttar Pradesh government has extended the detention of Dr Kafeel Khan by three months under the stringent National Security Act.

Dr Khan is in jail since January 29 when he was arrested by police on the charge of delivering “provocative” remarks  while speaking about the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act at a students gathering in Aligarh Muslim University.

In May, the state home department upheld the February order of District Magistrate, Aligarh, that invoked National Security Act against Dr Khan and extended his detention by three months.

A fresh report sent recently by the DM to the government’s Advisory Council said that “there are enough reasons” to continue the incarceration of Dr Khan.

On the basis of the report which the Advisory Council forwarded to the Governor, Anandiben Patel, she has directed that the detention be extended by a period of three months.

“As a result, Kafeel will remain in jail till November 13, 2020,” a statement issued by the UP government said.

Days after his arrest in February, Dr Khan was granted bail. But the authorities were quick to book him under NSA. The stringent law allows the state to jail an accused for up to 12 months or beyond if “fresh evidence” is brought in.

Some weeks back a letter by Dr Khan from jail cropped up on social media in which he talked about the conditions inside the jail amidst the coronavirus scare. He said that there was one toilet for 150 inmates.

“The entire barrack seems like a fish market infused with all kinds of smells including someone coughing, sneezing, farting, urinating or sweating. Some people snore, some fight, some scratch themselves”. He termed the jail “a living hell”.

Dr Khan first became the center of national attention in August 2017 when the government accused him of medical negligence after the death of 60 children at Gorakhpur hospital due to shortage of oxygen. He was arrested and jailed for nine months even though activists had claimed that he was being falsely blamed for the wrongs of others.

Two years later he was cleared of all the charges as a departmental enquiry found that he had not committed any act of medical negligence.

In December last year, when the government passed the CAA, it triggered nationwide  protests. Dr Khan lent his support to the protests and appeared at many sit-ins and marches. He was arrested in Mumbai for his January speech in Aligarh and since then he is behind bars awaiting bail.