GIVE BACK MY JOB: KAFEEL TO UP GOVT AFTER HIS RELEASE FROM JAIL
AGRA/LUCKNOW: Hours after the Allahabad high court granted conditional bail to him, Dr Kafeel Khan was released from the Mathura jail late on Tuesday night.
Soon after his release, Khan thanked the judiciary for the order ensuring his release and urged the state government to restore his job of a lecturer at BRD Medical College, Gorakhpur.
“I wish to work on a vaccine or medicine to protect the people from coronavirus infection. I am even ready to offer myself
for human trial of the vaccine,” he said in a Facebook live on Wednesday.
Khan was charged under the National Security Act (NSA) for his alleged inflammatory statements at the Aligarh Muslim University during a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in December last year.
Khan said he feared that Uttar Pradesh police might lodge a fake case against him or kill him in a fake encounter.
“I decided not to visit Gorakhpur because of this. Instead my family members are coming to meet me at the spot where I am staying,” he said, while adding, “The Uttar Pradesh government instead of doing ‘Raj Dharma’ was indulging in ‘Baal Hatth’ or childlike-stubbornness.”
“He has moved to a place in neighbouring Rajasthan,” confirmed a family member.
“I will always remain thankful to all my well-wishers, who raised their voice for my release. The administration was not ready for release but because of the prayers of people, I have been released,” he said.
Khan alleged that he and his family had to face many hardships ever since the state government targeted him because of the oxygen issue in BRD Medical College.
On his future plan, Khan said, he along with members of the foundation, launched by him will visit Bihar, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka soon to organise a health camp in the flood-hit areas.
Terming slapping of the NSA on him as illegal, Khan said, “I am not a terrorist but a medical practitioner, I was tortured in the jail, forced to stay in a cell with 150 prisoners and was served substandard food.”
The Allahabad high court, which ordered his release on Tuesday, said his speech at AMU on December 10, 2019 did not promote any kind of hatred or violence.
The court also set aside his detention under the NSA saying that the February 13 order against Khan by the Aligarh district magistrate was illegal.
“A complete reading of the speech also nowhere threatens peace and tranquility of the city of Aligarh. The address gives a call for national integrity and unity among the citizens. The speech also deprecates any kind of violence. It appears that the District Magistrate had selective reading and selective mention for few phrases from the speech ignoring its true intent,” the court said while hearing the plea filed by Khan’s mother Nuzhat Parveen.
Khan was lodged in the jail since January 29. His detention under the NSA was extended by three months on May 12 and then again on August 4 for three more months.
Meanwhile, the resident doctors’ association at the AMU on Wednesday welcomed the release of Khan. Hamza Malik, president of the resident doctors’ association at the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, said Khan’s release was a victory of justice.