Dr. Kafeel Khan arrested in Mumbai over 'inflammatory' AMU speech
The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) arrested Dr. Kafeel Khan from the Mumbai airport Wednesday night. A pediatrician, Dr. Khan first made headlines after he was jailed for the deaths of over 60 children at a hospital in UP's Gorakhpur. The STF was acting on a complaint registered against the pediatrician for making inflammatory speeches at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) last month.
Reportedly, Dr. Khan was arrested from the Mumbai airport in a joint effort by the STF of the UP Police and the Mumbai Police. According to PTI, following the arrest, Dr. Khan was taken to the Sahar Police Station. After the completion of all formalities, he will be taken to UP on transmit remand, officials reportedly said.
Notably, the arrest was made a day before Dr. Khan was scheduled to attend an indefinite "Mumbai Bagh" protest at Nagpada against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The demonstration—which started on January 26—is inspired by the indefinite women-led sit-in protests at Delhi's Shaheen Bagh.
An official of the Mumbai Police reportedly said, "Officials of the UP STF arrested Dr. Kafeel Khan in a case which was registered at Civil Lines Police Station under section 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups) of IPC." The FIR mentioned was registered on December 13, 2019, in Aligarh, against speeches that Dr. Khan had made at an AMU protest a day before.
According to The Hindu, the FIR quoted Dr. Khan's remarks at AMU. The FIR stated, "Dr. Kafeel allegedly said through the CAA, 'we are giving employment in our homes to thieves who are stealing in our neighborhood.'" It 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."
Dr. Khan had made the remarks while addressing a crowd of around 600 students during a protest at AMU's Bab-e-Syed Gate. Previously, Dr. Khan had made headlines back in 2017 after the death of over 60 children at Gorakhpur's BRD Medical College. He was suspended, arrested and jailed. However, in September 2019, a UP government report cleared him of all major accusations.
