Kids' death in Gorakhpur hospital: Suspended Dr Kafeel Khan sacked
Lucknow/Gorakhpur, Nov 11: Paediatrician Kafeel Khan of Gorakhpur's BRD Medical College and Hospital, who had been suspended in 2017 after the death of 63 children due to oxygen shortage, has been dismissed, a government official said here on Thursday.
Dr Khan has been sacked after being found guilty in the probe into the circumstances leading to the death of children in the hospital, UP Principal Secretary (Medical Education) Alok Kumar said.
As the matter is sub judice, the detailed information about Dr Khan's dismissal will be given to the court, Kumar added.
Dr Khan had been attached to the office of Director General Medical Education (DGME) after his suspension on August 22, 2017, in the wake of the children's death during the month.
Reacting to the report of Dr Khan's dismissal, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadhra termed his dismissal as malice-driven and aimed at harassing him.
Expressing surprise over the reports of his dismissal, Dr Khan, said he does not know how he has been terminated despite the court giving him a clean chit earlier.
Principal Secretary Alok Kumar had on Wednesday released a statement about my termination from the BRD Medical college, he said, adding he, however, has not received any termination letter as yet.
"They have no authority to terminate me. They should have taken orders from Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) (to suspend me), he asserted in a statement on the reports of his termination.
"Among the eight people suspended in the lack of oxygen case in the hospital, the suspension of seven others except mine had been revoked. The court had punished all of them in one or the other manner but the honourable court had given me a clean chit on charges of medical negligence and corruption," Dr Khan claimed.
I was suspended on August 22, 2017 in the case and on March 5, 2019, the Allahabad High court had asked the UP Government to end the inquiry and on April 18, 2019, the high court had given me a clean chit, Dr Khan said.
When I was in jail, the UP government again set up an inquiry against me on February 24, 2020, and on August 6, 2021, the state government declared in front of the court that they are withdrawing the inquiry order of the then Chief Secretary Himanshu Kumar, Dr Khan said.
He also explained that even on Wednesday, the government had not told the court about his termination.
On November 10, 2021, there was a date in the court but the government did not submit any papers regarding termination. The next court date is on December 7, 2021. I have no hope of justice from this government, Dr Khan added.
After Kafeel's dismissal, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi in a tweet in Hindi said "Dr Khan's dismissal is driven by malice. Motivated by a hate agenda, the government is doing all this to harass him."
"But the government should keep in mind that it is not above the Constitution. The Congress party is with Dr Khan in his fight for justice," she said.
उप्र सरकार द्वारा डॉ. कफील खान की बर्खास्तगी दुर्भावना से प्रेरित है। नफरती एजेंडा से प्रेरित सरकार उनको प्रताड़ित करने के लिए ये सब कर रही है।
— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) November 11, 2021
लेकिन सरकार को ध्यान रखना चाहिए कि वो संविधान से ऊपर नहीं है। कांग्रेस पार्टी डॉ कफील की न्याय की लड़ाई में उनके साथ है और हमेशा रहेगी। pic.twitter.com/xidIyzv3sI
63 kids died 'cos the govt didn't pay the O2 suppliers
— Dr Kafeel Khan (@drkafeelkhan) November 11, 2021
8 Doctors,employees got suspended -7 reinstated
inspite of getting clean chit on charges of medical negligence & corruption -I got terminated
Parents-Still awaiting Justice
justice ? Injustice?
U decide 🙏🤲 pic.twitter.com/t7ZFeU4JYf
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.
Traffic fraud: Fake 'no-entry' sticker racket busted in Delhi, mastermind among 3 held
New Delhi (PTI): Police here have busted a crime syndicate involved in traffic fraud and extortion, arresting three people including the alleged mastermind who sold fake stickers to help commercial vehicles bypass no-entry restrictions, an official said on Saturday.
The police said they dismantled a third organised syndicate linked to traffic-related frauds, with the arrest of Rinku Rana alias Bhushan, his associate Sonu Sharma and Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, who was also connected to another extortion syndicate.
According to the police, Rinku Rana was running a well-organised network that facilitated the movement of commercial goods vehicles during restricted hours by selling fake 'marka' or stickers for Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 per vehicle every month. The stickers were falsely projected as authorisation to evade traffic challans.
During raids, the police recovered Rs 31 lakh in cash, property documents worth several crores of rupees, over 500 fake stickers and six mobile phones allegedly used to operate the syndicate.
The crackdown followed a complaint filed by a traffic police officer in April this year after a commercial vehicle tried to evade checking by producing a fake sticker claiming exemption from enforcement action.
Investigation revealed that social media groups were being used to coordinate the illegal movement of vehicles and alert drivers about traffic police checkpoints, police said.
"A parallel system was being run to cheat drivers and vehicle owners while undermining traffic enforcement. On the basis of evidence, provisions related to organised crime under the BNS were invoked," a senior police officer said.
Sonu Sharma, the police said, managed social media groups through which stickers were sold and real-time alerts were circulated regarding traffic police movement. He also acted as a link between Rana and drivers operating in the field.
In a related development, Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, an associate of Rajkumar alias Raju Meena, who was earlier arrested under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), was also apprehended.
Mukesh allegedly helped extort money from transporters and was involved in blackmailing traffic police personnel by recording enforcement actions, the police said.
Investigators alleged the syndicate led by Rajkumar deployed drivers to deliberately violate traffic rules and secretly record police officials during challans, later using manipulated videos to extort money under threat of false allegations.
The police said that in total, eight accused belonging to three different organised crime syndicates linked to traffic frauds and extortion have been arrested so far.
Further investigation is underway to trace the remaining members, conduct financial probes, and analyse digital evidence recovered during the raids, officials added.
