New Delhi: Two years after an oxygen shortage killed 63 children at Gorakhpur’s BRD Medical College, a departmental inquiry on Friday absolved child-care specialist Dr Kafeel Khan of all major accusations, including charges of corruption, medical negligence and dereliction of duty.
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Khan, a paediatrician at BRD Medical College, was suspended, arrested and imprisoned for nine months for his alleged role in the deaths of the children in 2017.
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The 15-page government report clarified that Dr Khan had informed his seniors of the oxygen shortage and provided seven oxygen cylinders in his personal capacity on the fateful night of August 10, 2017, when the tragedy struck.
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The probe report supported what the state High Court (HC) had said earlier. The HC said there was no direct evidence of negligence on Dr Khan’s part.
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The report on Friday explained that Dr Khan was not responsible for maintenance or purchase of liquid oxygen at BRD Hospital. It also presented evidence that there was a genuine shortage of liquid oxygen for 54 hours in the hospital from August 10-12.
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“Dr Kafeel Khan was not the nodal officer of the Encephalitis Ward when the incident occurred. Despite being on leave, he tried to save lives by arranging 500 jumbo oxygen cylinders in his personal capacity. He provided seven cylinders from his own clinic,” the report stated.
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After receiving the report, Khan demanded an apology from the Uttar Pradesh state government. He also asked for suitable compensation for the families affected by the tragedy.
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“The government must apologise to me and compensate people who suffered. The parents who lost their children still await justice,” Dr Khan said. He said he was happy that he could get rid of the tag of “murderer”.
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“The tag of murderer has been finally removed. Now I would love to spend time with my kids. My daughter was ten months old when they took me away. When I came back, she did not recognise me,” Dr Khan said.
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He told media that he always knew that he was innocent and patiently waited for justice to be delivered. “On the night of the tragedy, I did what I could do best as a doctor. But I was thrown behind bars. I was vilified by the media and my family was harassed,” he added.
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He explained that the real culprits were those who failed to make timely payments due to which oxygen cylinders could not be procured in time. “It was a man-made tragedy. The real culprits are those who failed to make timely payments because they wanted commission on purchase,” he said.
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Dr Khan lamented that the inquiry into the incident was unnecessarily prolonged by the state government. “The inquiry was ordered by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on August 22, 2017. It was to be finished in 90 days, but went on for two years. It should have been completed within the stipulated period,” he emphasised.
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