New Delhi: A row has erupted over shunting out of the nodal officer of paediatric department of Gorakhpur’s BRD Medical College where more than 60 children have died over the past one week, with resident doctors of AIIMS-Delhi alleging he was made a “scapegoat”.
Dr Kafeel Khan was hailed as a hero after he reportedly bought oxygen cylinders with his own money when its shortage led to a crisis last week at the state-run hospital. However, hours after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visited the hospital, Khan was removed from the post.
A top source in the medical college said Khan has been accused of “fabricating stories”.
However, according to Seema Suraksha Bal’s (SSB) Public Relations Officer OP Sahu, it was an unprecedented crisis situation on August 10-11.
“Dr Kafeel Khan came to Deputy Inspector General of SSB and requested for a truck, so that oxygen cylinders could be collected from various locations. For hours, our truck collected oxygen cylinders from various locations ... Dr Khan’s efforts and SSB’s assistance helped in fighting the crisis,” Sahu said.
Khan is also alleged to be running a 50-bed hospital for children by proxy. The owner of the hospital, the source claimed, was his wife, a dentist. Private practice by government doctors is banned in Uttar Pradesh. Other reports allege that Khan spent one year in jail for raping a girl in 2007. Dr Khan has yet to react to these charges.
Hours after the tragedy struck, Khan had said, “Some people are running a smear campaign on social media because I am a Muslim ... I am an Indian first, and I have done everything as a doctor.”
Doctors at Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) allege that Dr Khan has been made a scapegoat.
They ask if Dr Khan was really a rape accused, why was he allowed to practice thus far. President of the resident doctors association at AIIMS, Dr Harjit Singh Bhatti said that once again a doctor has been made a “scapegoat for the infrastructural lapse and failure of the government”.
“By blaming doctors for the death of the children, the politicians are hiding their incompetence. Who is responsible if oxygen, gloves, equipment are not available? The doctor is not the only one responsible. We want a proper inquiry,” Dr Bhatti said yesterday.
— With inputs from Karuna Madan, Correspondent
