Dr Kafeel Khan dismissed over hospital deaths

Lucknow/Gorakhpur, Nov 11

Paediatrician Dr Kafeel Khan of Gorakhpur’s BRD Medical College and Hospital, who was suspended in 2017 after the death of 70 children due to oxygen shortage, has been dismissed, a government official said here today.

Dr Khan has been sacked after being found guilty in the probe into the circumstances leading to the death of children at the hospital, UP Principal Secretary (Medical Education) Alok Kumar said.

As the matter was sub judice, the detailed information about Dr Khan’s dismissal would be given to the court, Kumar added. Dr Khan had been attached to the office of Director General Medical Education after his suspension on August 22, 2017, in the wake of the children’s death during the month. Expressing surprise over the reports of his dismissal, Dr Khan said he did not know how he had 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, had not received any termination letter as yet. “They have no authority to terminate me. They should have taken orders from UP Public Service Commission (to suspend me).

Among the eight persons suspended in the lack of oxygen case in the hospital, the suspension of seven others had been revoked.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,” he said in a statement.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra termed his dismissal as “malice-driven and aimed at harassing him”. — PTI