Samajwadi Party's MLC candidate and pediatrician Dr. Kafeel Khan has been booked for using criminal force to obstruct the work of a public servant in Deoria. It is alleged that Khan forcibly entered an ambulance despite being stopped by the driver to examine a female patient. However, Khan, who is contesting the election of MLC from the Deoria-Kushinagar seat, has alleged that the matter is politically motivated.
The incident is on March 26, but a case was registered at the Kotwali police station on Tuesday on the complaint of Prakash Patel, an ambulance driver working at the Primary Health Center (PHC) in Bhaluhani.
The complainant alleged that since the ambulance did not have the required amount of oxygen, they were carrying Ambu bags (Artificial Manual Breathing Units) with them. However, the woman died as soon as she reached the emergency ward of the hospital.
On March 28, Khan said in his tweet that the oxygen cylinder in the ambulance in which the woman was brought to the district hospital was empty. Also, there were no Ambu bags, laryngoscopy, ET tubes (endotracheal tubes), and life-saving medicines in the hospital. Khan said that when I was coming out of the hospital, a young man asked me to examine his mother lying inside the ambulance.
He said that "I believe that the case was registered against me because I had tweeted about the shortcomings I found in the hospital and ambulance. The case against me is politically motivated. I am contesting elections and people are supporting me. They filed a case against me to divert my attention. I see this case as a continuation of my harassment."
Deoria additional district magistrate Kunwar Pankaj Singh said during the investigation they found that the allegations made by Khan of lack of essential facilities in the ambulance were false.
In November last year, the state government had dismissed Khan from services, saying the decision was linked to the death of children at Gorakhpur's BRD hospital due to an alleged lack of oxygen. Subsequently, the Allahabad High Court stayed the UP government's order to suspend Khan.
In 2017, Khan was suspended and arrested after the children died in the hospital. Presently he is out on bail.