Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Tuesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking the release of medical practitioner Kafeel Khan, booked under the National Security Act (NSA) for alleged hate speech. Chowdhury contended that "grievous injustice" was being meted out to the Uttar Pradesh doctor. Khan is in detention for allegedly making an inflammatory speech on the Aligarh Muslim University campus during the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests.
With just a day to go for the groundbreaking ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, Chowdhury, in his letter to the PM, said, "Ramraj (Lord Ram's rule) is antithetical to injustice, discrimination and retribution."
"I, on behalf of my party, vehemently opposed the legislation (CAA) inside the Parliament and outside. However, no NSA was invoked against me or the millions of other protesters across the country.
"I am quite bewildered as to why a young medical practitioner has been implicated despite the fact that freedom of expression has been engraved in the hallowed Constitution of India," Chowdhury wrote in the letter. The senior Congress leader urged Modi to secure justice for Khan, who had been in jail since January.
"Even international forums such as the United Nation shave been persuading you for the release of Kafeel Khan. Sir, I firmly believe that 'Ramraj' is simply antithetical to injustice, discrimination and retribution," the Lok Sabha MP from Berhampore said. Khan was arrested at Mumbai airport on January 29 in connection with a case registered at Aligarh's Civil Lines police station under section 153-A of the Indian Penal Code.
The section relates to enmity promotion between groupsover religion and other differences. On February 10, Khan was granted bail by the Allahabad High Court but not immediately released by Mathura Jail authorities. His family then moved the court in Aligarh,claiming contempt of the HC order.
The court issued a fresh release order on February 13.But before it could be executed, the authorities invoked the National Security Act against him. The paediatrician had earlier faced arrest following the deaths of over 60 children in a week at a government hospital in UP's Gorakhpur in 2017.
About two years later, a state government probe cleared Khan of all major charges.
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