Four days after getting bail, Kafeel Khan charged under NSA
Pediatrician Dr. Kafeel Khan, who was recently arrested and granted bail for allegedly making a provocative speech, has now been charged under the National Security Act (NSA). Reportedly, Dr. Khan has been slapped with the NSA for the same speech, which he made at the Aligarh Muslim University in December last year. The pediatrician remains lodged at Mathura jail. Here are more details.
The Uttar Pradesh Police has charged Dr. Khan under the NSA, PTI reported on Friday. Aligarh Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Akash Kulhari told the news agency, "NSA has been slapped on Dr. Kafeel. He will remain in jail." He was arrested on January 29 from the Mumbai airport by a Special Task Force (STF) of the UP Police for his speech at AMU.
On December 12, Dr. Khan addressed a crowd of around 600 students during a protest at AMU's Bab-e-Syed Gate. At the protest, he gave an allegedly provocative speech against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act, which has sparked widespread agitation across the nation. He was booked for promoting religious enmity the next day at Aligarh's Civil Lines Police Station.
The FIR against Khan—excerpted in The Hindu—stated, "Dr. Kafeel allegedly said, through the CAA, 'we are giving employment in our homes to thieves who are stealing in our neighborhood.'" The FIR added, "Dr. Kafeel said in his speech that Mota bhai (Union Home Minister Amit Shah) teaches us to become Hindu or Muslim, but not human beings."
An Aligarh District court on Monday granted bail to Dr. Khan against a bail bond of Rs. 60,000. He was lodged at Mathura jail, and despite bail, was yet to be released. The Times of India reported that he was supposed to be released today (February 14) as the Aligarh Chief Judicial Magistrate sent a special messenger to the jail to expedite his release.
Dr. Khan's brother, Adeel Khan, told PTI, "We got to know on Friday morning that NSA has been slapped on Kafeel and he will not be coming out of jail soon. This is simply unacceptable. He's being targeted at the behest of the state government."
To recall, Dr. Khan had first made headlines back in 2017. The pediatrician was at the center of the controversy at Gorakhpur's BRD Medical College, where over 60 children had died. The blame fell on Dr. Khan, who was subsequently suspended, arrested and jailed. However, in September 2019, a UP government report cleared him of all major accusations.
