Kafeel Khan Episode: Cruelty of the State
The Dr Kafeel Khan episode involving his repeated arrest and release after a grueling nine months reveals the extent of cruelty practiced by those in power. When hundreds of children died due to the paucity of oxygen cylinders as a result of the government’s callousness at a hospital in Uttar Pradesh in 2017, Dr Khan tried hard to save the children. After private contractors stopped the supply of oxygen to the hospital, Dr Khan used his personal finances to purchase oxygen cylinders and saved the lives of many children. He also exposed the maladministration and inefficiency in the hospital. But, the Uttar Pradesh government, instead of punishing those responsible for such systemic inefficiencies, put Dr Khan in the dock. To cover up its failures, it even denied that the death of the children was due to the cut in the supply of oxygen cylinders. It held Dr Khan responsible for the tragedy and became vengeful by torturing him and his family.
The greatest tragedy is that after he was released in the case pertaining to the death of the children, the government tried to falsely implicate Dr Khan under the National Security Act (NSA) and imprison him permanently. The Allahabad High Court on September 1, however, dismissed the case under the NSA in which he was arrested. Issuing a stern order, the court held the Uttar Pradesh government’s order to arrest Dr Khan in February and the subsequent extension of his imprisonment twice as invalid.
After his arrest for the Gorakhpur hospital incident, Dr Khan was released from jail in April 2018 nine months after being jailed. But when Khan started speaking against the government after his release, the police filed another FIR. Using the speech he delivered criticising Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) as a pretext, the Uttar Pradesh police arrested him on January 29 in Mumbai.
The court subsequently granted bail to Dr Khan on February 10 in the face of stiff opposition from the Uttar Pradesh government. But, the Uttar Pradesh government again immediately arrested Dr Khan under the NSA on February 13. Dr Khan had to spend nearly nine months in jail. In its September 1 historical order, the Allahabad High Court dismissed the arrest of Dr Khan and the subsequent extension of his jail term. The court presented the full text of Dr Khan’s December speech with its order and stated that the speech did not contain any references to disturb peace and law and order which was alleged by the Uttar Pradesh government when it foisted a case against Dr Khan.
The Uttar Pradesh government had weaved all types of strategies to retain Dr Khan in jail and even refused to provide records and files about the arrest. Now, with the arrest and release of Dr Khan, the ways in which the government is misusing the NSA is being discussed extensively. Many people like Dr Khan are rotting in jail for several years under the NSA. The Centre is trying to use the NSA to arrest whoever speaks out against the government’s anti-people policies and completely shut them. In recent years, the NSA is being slapped against the accused even in cow slaughter cases. The Bheem Army party leader Chandrashekar Azad was jailed in June 2017 and September 2018 without conducting any investigation.
Instances of the police misusing the NSA is increasing as the Act allows for imprisonment of the accused for long periods of time without conducting any investigation. This Act snatches away all rights of the accused who are imprisoned including that of appointing lawyers to fight the case and denying opportunities to find out any information about the reasons for the arrest. Analysts are of the opinion that the courts are also adopting delaying tactics while dismissing arrests under the NSA. In the case of Dr Khan, the court took nine months to dismiss his arrest which was completely politically motivated. There are two ways to stop the unlawful arrests under the NSA. One is to repeal the Act completely. Otherwise, political parties must pressurize the Centre against the misuse of the Act. Second, the higher judiciary must consider the arrests under the Act as ‘emergency‘ cases and prevent states from misusing the criminal justice system and extending the period of a person’s imprisonment. Most importantly, officials who are unilaterally using the NSA to imprison people must be handed out severe punishment. Unlawful arrests will end only when such Acts that give special powers to the police are struck down.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
AAP's Sanjay Singh alleges Centre 'relaxed' border security norms to help Adani set up energy park
New Delhi (PTI): Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh on Wednesday alleged that the Centre "relaxed" border security norms to help Adani set up an energy park at the Pakistan border in Gujarat.
During discussion on the Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025 in the Rajya Sabha, Singh said that the Centre controls 50 kilometres of international border across states and still blames state governments for illegal immigrant entry from those borders.
He alleged that the government has "played" with the security of the country by "relaxing" security norms for setting up an energy park in Gujarat at the Pakistan border to benefit a "friend".
"To benefit Adani you have relaxed border security rules. How shameful it is! You compromise on the nation's security for a friend," Singh said.
He questioned the Border Security Force's (BSF) failure to check entry of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh border.
"50 km security is with the BSF in Bengal… You are unable to stop for 50 km. You are not able to speak about your failure. The responsibility of the border in Assam, Tripura, Bengal is with you and you have messed up with its security. You are blaming the state government for your fault," Singh said.
Singh also raised the issue of fugitives Mehul Choksi, Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, Nitin Sandesara and Vijay Mallya.
"Dacoits of India, Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi after looting Rs 20,000 crore are sitting outside the country. They are teasing this nation. Why have you not been able to catch those dacoits? Why didn't you freeze their passport?" Singh said.
He alleged that the ruling party members helped Lalit Modi escape from the country.
He said Vijay Mallya is "teasing" the government from overseas after looting Rs 9000 crore of Indian banks and the common man.
Minister of State Nityanand Rai wanted to intervene in the speech but Singh refused to yield. Singh said that TV channels ran news that Mallya would come to India, stay in Tihar barrack and he would be punished.
"They were also talking about bringing Vijay Mallya back. After Rs 9,000 crore loot, Vijay Mallya is teasing from overseas. Nitin Sandesara looted Rs 6,000 crore of India and is teasing you from overseas. I am a respected member of this House. I am a member of the country's highest House but with great pain and agony, I am sharing with you that these cheaters who have looted thousands of crores of India are being treated with luxury in foreign countries and my passport is seized," Singh said.
He said that if the government has a clear intent then it should seize passports of everyone who owes more than Rs 50 crore, so that no one is able to escape from India.
He asked the government to share the number of Bangladeshi illegal immigrants that have been deported from the country.
"You have had a government in the state for the last 11 years, a government in the Centre for the last 11 years and you are unable to tell the number of Bangladeshi intruders that you have chased them out of India...You do only politics. The Bengal election is coming up, politics have started. The Bihar election is coming up, politics have started. Move beyond this," Singh said.
CPI(M)'s V Sivadasan said that giving immigration officers to make final decisions on entry of foreigners means there will be no appeal and therefore it needs to be changed.
“People should have the right to be heard..This government had an infamous history of sending back academics and activists from foreign countries. They were given all permissions yet they were sent back from the airport in an extremely humiliating manner. They were speaking against the politics of hatred which the ruling classes are using to divide the people,” Sivadasan said.
He said that the Bill states any foreigner causing threat to India’s integrity will be denied entry into the country, however, there is a lack of clarity on the threat which the Bill refers to.
BJP member Ajeet Madhavrao Gopchade alleged that illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya immigrants are in thousands. He alleged that illegal immigrants do "bogus voting" and are enjoying the benefits of India’s hospitals, schools, ration shops and government schemes for free.
YSR Congress Party's S Niranjan Reddy said that the Bill has stringent provision to curb mischief-mongers which are about 1-2 per cent and those provisions should not create inconvenience for the rest of 98 per cent.
He said that certain countries with whom India shares good relations can be exempted from some of the provisions in the Bill.
BJP members Shmabhu Sharan and Mahendra Bhatt, TDP member Masthan Rao Yadav Beedha and UPP (L) member Rwngwra Narzary also participated in the discussion.
