Dr Kafeel Khan found guilty of laxity in death of 63 children, dismissed from service

The Uttar Pradesh government dismissed Kafeel Khan, a Gorakhpur-based doctor who was accused in the case of the death of 63 children at Gorakhpur Medical College Hospital in 2017, allegedly owing to the shortage of oxygen.

A senior UP government official said that Khan, who was a pediatrician at the BRD Medical College, Gorakhpur, when the incident happened, had been dismissed from service after being found guilty of laxity in the case.

Khan took to Twitter on Thursday and posted a message confirming that his services had been terminated by the state government.

"63 kids died 'cos the govt didn't pay the O2 suppliers.....8 doctors, employees got suspended-7 reinstated..in spite of getting clean chit on charges of medical negligence & corruption-I got terminated...Parents-Still awaiting justice...justice? Injustice?....U decide," Khan said in the post.

He said that he would challenge the termination in the court.

Khan had earlier been arrested in the case and had spent nine months in jail before being enlarged on bail.

Khan had been given a clean chit in the matter by a committee, which was probing the case. The state government had, however, constituted another committee to investigate the matter.

Also Read | Kafeel Khan now 'history-sheeter' in Uttar Pradesh

He had also taken part in the anti-CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) protests in the state. The police had later arrested him on charges of allegedly delivering inflammatory speech and the NSA was also slapped on him. The Allahabad High Court, however, had quashed the NSA saying that "a complete reading of the speech prima facie did not disclose any effort to promote hatred or violence".

The Gorakhpur-based doctor had also written a letter to the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) alleging large scale rights 'violations' and 'misuse' of stringent laws to "suppress voice of dissent" in India.

"The government has been misusing stringent laws like NSA and UAPA to suppress the voice of dissent...it will greatly affect the poor and marginalised communities in India," he had said in his letter.