No inhuman treatment being meted out to Kafeel Khan, says Mathura DM after jail visit

Agra: Following allegations levelled by doctor-turned-activist Kafeel Khan’s wife, Shabista Khan, that her husband was being treated “inhumanly” in Mathura jail, the district magistrate along with the SSP visited the prison on Sunday and denied all such claims.

Talking to TOI, Mathura DM Sarvagya Ram Misra said that Khan, who was booked under the National Security Act (NSA) for alleged inflammatory statements during an anti-CAA protest in Aligarh, is absolutely fine. He said Khan is fully secure inside the jail and the allegations of “inhuman” treatment being meted out to him are baseless.

Senior superintendent of Mathura district prison, Shailendra Maitrey, said Khan’s condition is being monitored every half an hour and the report is written in the gate book. He said his ECG was found normal on Sunday and the blood pressure was also under control.

He said Khan was demanding checkup by a cardiologist, but since no specialist is available in the government hospital here, his request could not be complied with. However, the jail authorities have forwarded his request to the chief medical officer.

He said Khan is in 20x60 feet barrack, which is fully ventilated, and he shares it with 50-60 prisoners known for their “good behaviour”.

Shabista, in a letter to the chief justice of Allahabad HC, additional chief secretary (home), and director general (jail), had alleged that her husband was being treated inhumanly in the jail. She feared that an attempt could be made on her husband’s life inside the jail and had demanded adequate security for him. She had also urged that her husband should be kept away from active criminals and lodged with common prisoners.

Dr Khan was booked by Aligarh police on December 13 for delivering a “provocative” speech in Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) during an anti-CAA protest on the campus a day earlier and was arrested from Mumbai airport on January 29 by UP special task force. He was remanded to judicial custody for 14 days on January 30.

Aligarh police had slapped the stringent NSA on Khan on February 13, hours before he was expected to walk free from Mathura jail, four days after he was granted bail by Aligarh’s chief judicial magistrate on Feb 10.