In a surprise move, the sleuths of UP Special Task Force arrested Dr Kafeel Khan in Mumbai in a late night operation on Wednesday.
The doctor was earlier jailed after the death of over 60 children at BRD Medical College hospital in Gorakhpur in 2017.
Khan was arrested after a case was registered against him for making provocative speech on Citizenship (Amendment) Act during a talk at Aligarh Muslim University more than a month back.
The STF brass confirmed that they had arrested Khan with assistance from Mumbai Police at the airport when he arrived to attend anti-CAA protests.
“Khan was arrested in a case which was registered at Civil Lines police station in Aligarh under Section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups) of the Indian Penal Code,” IG (STF) Amitabh Yash said.
The FIR, lodged on December 13, says Khan made an attempt to vitiate the peaceful atmosphere at the AMU and disturb communal harmony. Two days after the case was registered against Khan, there was large-scale violence at AMU, where the police were accused of high-handedness on the campus.
The Aligarh police entered the campus after seeking permission from the university authorities but were later accused of barging into hostels, randomly assaulting students and indulging in vandalism.
There was a face-off between the police and AMU students when the students tried to take out an anti-CAA march outside the campus and were prevented from going out of the main gate.
Sources said that Dr Kafeel Khan was scheduled to participate in an anti-CAA protest in Mumbai on Thursday hence the STF dropped the net on him.
Khan, who was produced in a metropolitan magistrate court in Bandra on Thursday afternoon, said in the court that the UP Police would kill him in a fake encounter.
He also alleged that he was not being given a lawyer and then appealed to lawyers to help him. However, no lawyer volunteered to represent him and a group even said ‘no’ loudly in the court. But after some time, lawyer Alka Sharma agreed to represent Khan.
Khan further told the court that he had not said anything provocative and if the case had to be pursued, he be kept in Mumbai.
His lawyer also submitted that sedition charges were not applicable on him as he only gave his opinion on how the CAA would impact Muslims.
DGP OP Singh, however denied Khan’s apprehension and said, “This is wrong that we will fabricate any false case against him. As far as encounter is concerned, we believe in the rule of law and our aim is to arrest people and not to kill them. His apprehension is unfounded. ‘He will be prosecuted in the court as per law. We have nothing to do with his past and he has been charged for his present case.”