Gorakhpur infant deaths: Allahabad HC grants bail to Dr Kafeel Khan

Agencies
April 25, 2018

Allahabad, Apr 25: The Allahabad high court on Wednesday granted bail to Dr Kafeel Khan, who had been booked in connection with the death of children due to lack of oxygen at the Gorakhpur BRD Medical College last August.

Earlier, Dr Kafeel Khan - who has been in jail in the BRD Medical College case involving death of 63 children due to disruption in oxygen supply - had been brought to Gorakhpur district hospital for medical checkup under strict security on April 19.

Dr Khan was brought to the hospital two days after his wife had alleged that her jailed husband was being denied medical care.

The district hospital's cardiologist Dr K K Shahi had tested his blood pressure, carried out other tests and advised him to undergo complete lipid profile test to ascertain risks of heart ailments.

'Being framed'

After the tests, the police tried to take him away without any media interaction but on the way from cardiology department to the police vehicle, he told reporters present there that he was being framed.

"It is complete administrative failure and I have been framed. When the budget was not released from higher level, where from the payment could have been made (for oxygen cylinders)?" he asked.

Asked if the jail administration was providing medicines to him, he replied in the affirmative.

"Yes, they are giving (medicines)," he said.

Soon after, the police bundled him into the vehicle and drove away.

He is being denied medical care: Wife

Dr Khan's wife Dr Shabistan Khan on Tuesday had alleged at a press conference at her home that her husband and other doctors were being denied medical care in jail.

The district prison authorities, however, had rejected the charges.

In her press conference, Dr Shabistan had apprehended that the doctors lodged in the prison might be "killed."

She said her husband suffered a heart stroke on March 29 but was not given proper treatment.

"Former BRD Medical College principal, Dr Rajiv Mishra, is suffering from liver disease and diabetes but he is also not getting proper medical attention," she had claimed.

She had also said another accused, Dr Purnima Shukla, who is suffering from a hairline fracture, was also not getting the requisite medical attention.

Dr Kafeel is among the nine accused in the BRD Medical College and Hospital case involving death of 63 children, including infants, in August 2017 due to disruption in supply of oxygen owing to non-payment of dues to the vendor.

The state-run medical college is the single largest government-aided facility in Gorakhpur which also attends to the patients from nearby areas like Maharajganj, Deoria, Kushinagar, Basti, Siddharthnagar, Sant Kabirnagar, Ballia, certain areas of Bihar like Gopalganj and Siwan, besides border areas in neighboring Nepal.

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zahoor ahmed,K…
 - 
Wednesday, 25 Apr 2018

Health sector in Modi and Yogi Raj. Beware, Both are coming Karnatak to convert to UP.

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News Network
February 11,2020

New Delhi, Feb 11: As the counting of votes for the Delhi Assembly polls began, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Tuesday raised doubts on EVMs, alleging that no machine having a chip is tamper-proof.

He called upon the Election Commission and the Supreme Court to take a fresh look at the use of EVMs in the country.

"No machine (which) has a chip is tamper-proof. Also please do for a moment think, why no developed country uses EVM," Singh said in a tweet.

"Would CEC and Hon Supreme Court please have a fresh look on EVM voting in India? We are the largest democracy in the world, we can't allow some unscrupulous people to hack results and steal the mandate of 1.3 billion people.

"If they match the votes in the counting unit. Declare the result. If they don't match then count the ballots of all polling booths in the assembly. It would convince everyone and save time also as this has been the consistent argument of CEC in favour of EVM," the Congress leader said.

Polling for the 70-member Delhi Assembly polls was held on Saturday.

The Election Commission on Sunday announced that the final voter turnout was 62.59 per cent, five per cent less than 2015.

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Agencies
July 29,2020

Dubai, Jul 29: Muslim pilgrims on Wednesday begin the annual Haj, downsized this year as the Saudi hosts strive to prevent a coronavirus outbreak during the five-day pilgrimage.

The Haj, one of the five pillars of Islam and a must for able-bodied Muslims at least once in their lifetime, is usually one of the world's largest religious gatherings.

But this year only up to 10,000 people already residing in the Kingdom will participate in the ritual, a tiny fraction of the 2.5 million pilgrims from around the world that attended last year.

"There are no security-related concerns in this pilgrimage, but (downsizing) is to protect pilgrims from the danger of the pandemic," said Khalid bin Qarar Al Harbi, Saudi Arabia's director of public security.

Pilgrims will be required to wear masks and observe social distancing during a series of religious rites that are completed over five days in the holy city of Makkah and its surroundings in western Saudi Arabia.

Those selected to take part in the Haj were subject to temperature checks and placed in quarantine as they began trickling into Makkah at the weekend.

State media showed health workers sanitising their luggage, and some pilgrims reported being given electronic wristbands to allow authorities to monitor their whereabouts.

Workers, clutching brooms and disinfectant, were seen cleaning the area around the Kaaba, the structure at the centre of the Grand Mosque draped in gold-embroidered cloth towards which Muslims around the world pray.

Haj authorities have cordoned off the Holy Kaaba this year, saying pilgrims will not be allowed to touch it, to limit the chances of infection.

They also reported setting up multiple health facilities, mobile clinics and ambulances to cater to the pilgrims.

Saudi authorities said only around 1,000 pilgrims residing in the Kingdom would be permitted for the Haj. Some 70 per cent of the pilgrims are foreigners residing in the Kingdom, while the rest will be Saudi citizens, authorities said.

All worshippers were required to be tested for coronavirus before arriving in the holy city of Makkah and will also have to quarantine after the pilgrimage as the number of cases in the Kingdom nears 270,000.

They were given elaborate amenity kits that include sterilised pebbles for a stoning ritual, disinfectants, masks, a prayer rug and the Ihram, a seamless white garment worn by pilgrims, according to a Haj ministry programme document.

"I did not expect, among millions of Muslims, to be blessed with approval," Emirati pilgrim Abdullah Al Kathiri said in a video released by the Saudi media ministry.

"It is an indescribable feeling... especially since it is my first pilgrimage."

The Haj ministry said non-Saudi residents of the Kingdom from around 160 countries competed in the online selection process but it did not say how many people applied.

Despite the pandemic, many pilgrims consider it safer to participate in this year's ritual without the usual colossal crowds cramming into tiny religious sites, which make it a logistical nightmare and a health hazard.

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News Network
June 3,2020

Jammu, Jun 3: A mob on Tuesday disrupted the last rites of a coronavirus victim in Jammu and Kashmir and forced his family members to flee with the half-burnt body, prompting intervention by the administration which later ensured the cremation at another place as per protocol.

A 72-year-old man, hailing from Doda district, became the fourth victim of the novel coronavirus to die in Jammu region. He breathed his last at the Government Medical College (GMC) hospital on Monday.

"We had set out for the funeral along with a revenue official and a medical team, and had lit the pyre at a cremation ground in Domana area when a large group of local residents appeared at the scene and disrupted the last rites," son of the deceased said.

Only close relatives of the deceased, including his wife and two sons, were present during the cremation. They had to flee with the half-burnt body in an ambulance to save their skin from the mob which pelted stones and attacked them with sticks.

"We had sought permission from the government to take the body to our home district for the last rites, but we were told that all necessary arrangements were in place, and that we would not face any trouble during the cremation," the victim's son said.

He also alleged that the security officials present at the scene were of no help.

Two policemen who were present there failed to act against the unruly crowd, while the accompanying revenue official went missing, he said.

"The ambulance driver and other staff from the hospital helped us a lot and managed to take us back to the GMC hospital with the body the government should have come out with a better plan to conduct the last rites of coronavirus victims, taking into consideration the past experience and problems encountered during the funeral of such victims," the victim's son said.

Later, the body was taken to a cremation ground at Bhagwati Nagar area of the city, where it was consigned to flames in the afternoon in presence of senior civil officials, including additional deputy commissioner and sub-divisional magistrate under tight security.

"My uncle was admitted in the hospital last week and died on Monday afternoon. He was suffering from various ailments, especially lungs and heart diseases. Before shifting him to GMC hospital Jammu, he underwent a coronavirus test in Doda which came negative," nephew of the deceased said.

However, he said, the victim's second test after his admission in the GMC hospital came positive on Sunday.

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