New Delhi, April 24: The Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA) and other health right bodies have come together and written a letter to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath seeking justice for Dr. Kafeel Khan. They also made a demand to release Dr Khan from jail who has been wrongly prosecuted as per their claims.

To recall, Dr. Kafeel Khan had been accused of the horrific incident where 70 innocent children lost their lives due to the shortage of oxygen cylinders in the government-run hospital 'Baba Raghav Das' in Gorakhpur last year. Currently, Dr. Khan is in jail and charged with 'attempt to murder.'

The letter wrote by JSA reads, "The horrific death incident of over 70 children at Baba Raghav Das, Medical college in August 2017 Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh shocked the country and public consciousness. While these deaths were the result of the serious systematic gaps in the public health infrastructure and administrative breakdown of healthcare delivery in the hospital. The unfortunate response to the deaths was the wrongful prosecution of Dr. Kafeel Khan. He performed his role as an ethical medical professional and undertook immediate steps to manage the grave situation of the poor infrastructure and care, including lack of oxygen cylinders, was instead incarcerated. His efforts were not acknowledged and instead been penalized."

Over 200 doctors, academics, and patients' rights advocates representing the JSA, Medico Friends Circle and the Alliance of Doctors for Ethical Healthcare have signed the letter. They want immediate bail for Khan and the withdrawal of the 'false charges' against him. The letter says Khan has been punished, instead of being praised, for taking immediate steps to address the shortage of oxygen cylinders.

At a media conference in Delhi on Saturday, Khan's wife Shabista also released a letter from her husband that describes Adityanath's visit to the hospital after the deaths. "CM Adityanath asked: 'So, you are Dr Kafeel? You arranged cylinders?' I was like, 'Yes sir'. He got angry: 'So you think by arranging cylinders, you became a hero? I'll see about that'," Khan wrote.

"Then police started coming to our home, hounding, threatening and torturing my family. I surrendered to save my family." Allahabad High Court has fixed Khan's bail hearing plea for April 25, 2018.

The JSA letter also further states that Dr. Khan's prosecution is not only an act of injustice against him but also to the many children and families who Dr. Kafeel tried to help in their time of distress. Meanwhile, they also have demanded an independent judicial inquiry panel that includes public health experts to probe the case.

While Khan emphasised that he cautioned the head of his department and the institution, the district magistrate and a district health official about the situation emerging due to the shortage of oxygen supply. His letter to wife Shabista says he had 'begged' gas suppliers around the hospital, and arranged 250 cylinders per day till the liquid-oxygen tank arrived.

Meanwhile, he had also sought help from the Seema Suraksha Bal, which offered a big truck and its troops, who carried empty cylinders from the hospital to a gas agency to refill and return them.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 24, 2018 05:54 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).