What Did Dr. Kafeel Do That His Brother Gets Three Bullets?

Fourteen hours have passed since Dr Kafeel Ahmad Khan’s younger brother Kashif Jameel was shot at thrice by two unidentified bike-borne men at Durgawadi near Gorakhnath Temple in Gorakhpur on Sunday night. The incident happened barely 500 metres away from the temple where Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was present.

Dr Kafeel, brother of the victim, was booked last year in connection with the death of nearly 60 children, allegedly because of lack of oxygen at Baba Raghav Das (BRD) Medical College in Gorakhpur. Since Dr Kafeel is out on bail, he has been vocal about the loopholes in the hospital administration during the Gorakhpur hospital tragedy.

According to Dr Kafeel, after the shooting, 34-year-old Kashif reached the nearby JP hospital, where he was allegedly denied treatment. He said that his brother mustered courage and managed to reach Star Hospital on his own. His family was informed later, and they rushed to the hospital where the doctor advised an emergency surgery to remove the bullets that had penetrated the neck, chin and right upper arm of the victim.

Meanwhile, the police had reached the hospital and allegedly stopped the patient from being taken to the operation theatre. Dr Kafeel told Newsclickthat they took him to the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose District Hospital to get the medico legal case (MLC) done. “Once the MLC was done, we tried to take him to the Star Hospital for treatment, but the police officer DSP Praveen Singh insisted that my brother should be taken to the BRD College to get another MLC done by the medical board. We protested because the priority was to save him. It was already 1 am, and my brother was in pain. Blood was oozing from his wounds. We, anyhow, took him to the Star Hospital once again, but because of the heavy police deployment there, we were forced to take my brother to the BRD College, where there was no neurologist available,” he said.

DSP Praveen Singh accepted that the victim was taken from the District Hospital to BRD but he claimed that it was not to get the MLC done. “At the District Hospital, the victim was referred to the BRD Hospital, and that’s why we insisted on taking him to that hospital. For us, the life of the victim is precious than the legal procedures. Police was deployed because it was a serious matter,” said Singh.

However, the family denies the claims made by the police. “We were forced to shift my brother to BRD even when we had requested otherwise. As we reached BRD, which was 15 kilometres away from the Star hospital, the doctors said there was no need for another MLC. As there was no neurologist available at the time, the doctors at the BRD asked us to take my brother to the King George Medical College, Lucknow or continue treatment where he was already admitted. They [the police] wasted our four hours. He could have died. This behaviour of the police was not at all justified. We were disappointed,” Dr Kafeel added.

The police have registered an FIR against unknown men. “The motive behind the attack has not been uncovered as of now. We have registered an FIR, and we are looking into the matter,” informed Singh. 

However, the family is demanding security citing threat to their lives. “I fear for my family, not for myself. I am demanding security for my family now,” said Dr Kafeel.

Speaking about the motive behind the incident, he said “The government is trying to threaten my family, so that I stop speaking the truth. I don’t see any other reason. I am not aware of any personal rivalry my brother could have had with anyone. But we are waiting for him to recover, so that we get to know more about the incident.”

Meanwhile, the condition of the victim is stable, and he is kept under observation. The victim was shot when he had gone out to buy slippers for his mother from a nearby store after offering Isha prayers. While he was coming back, a few unknown assailants shot three bullets at him.