Govt clarifies: No clean chit to Dr Kafeel

LUCKNOW: The UP government on Thursday clarified that a clean chit has not been given to suspended paediatrician Dr Kafeel Khan in connection with the 2017 BRD Medical College tragedy which claimed the lives of over 60 children.

Addressing a press conference, principal secretary medical education Rajnish Dubey said Dr Kafeel Khan was misleading the people by claiming that he had been absolved in the case.

Khan gave wrong statement to newspapers and channels, posted a video stating he had been cleared in the departmental inquiry. He even claimed that the inquiry officer stated in the report that the charges against Dr Kafeel were without any substance and irrelevant, Dubey said.

Dubey went on to add that the inquiry officer had actually said that Dr Kafeel indulged in private practice despite posted as senior resident and teacher at BRD Medical College.

“It’s a case of corruption and violation of service rules. Out of the four charges against Dr Kafeel, two charges have been confirmed while the state government is yet to take decision on the remaining two charges,” Dubey said. After the tragedy, the state government had suspended three officers, including the then principal Dr Rajiv Kumar Mishra, teacher in the department of anesthesia, Dr Satish Kumar and Dr Kafeel Ahmed Khan.The state government panel probing the tragedy had asked for all three suspended officers’ replies to the inquiry report but Dr Kafeel started releasing statements instead, leading to incorrect interpretation of the inquiry report getting published in newspapers, alleged Dubey adding that action will be taken against him for making false statement regarding the probe. Replying to a question Dubey said that there were two more charges against Dr Kafeel—of failing to dispose of his duties as the in-charge of the 100-bed pediatrics department ward and of not alerting the senior officials when the oxygen crisis hit the hospital. “He failed to manage the facilities available in the ward to protect the life of the children. He did not steer the junior staff posted in the ward to manage the crisis as well,” the principal secretary said.

Dubey said that Dr Kafeel had informed the inquiry officer that he was not in-charge of the 100 bed ward and was therefore given relief by the inquiry officer. But the state government received a document from the medical college administration showing Dr Kafeel was the nodal officer in 2016 and 2017 and headed its purchase committee.