A Congress MLA here on Tuesday said he and his senior colleague Digvijay Singh have offered a job on behalf of the Madhya Pradesh unit of the party to Dr Kafeel Khan, who was arrested after the death of over 60 children in a hospital in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur in 2017.
The tragedy at Baba Raghav Das Medical College, which shook the nation and made headlines worldwide, began with the death of 30 children in the night of August 10 that year, followed by 34 more deaths in the days to follow.
While talking to media persons here, Congress MLA Arif Masood said, 'When I met him (Dr Khan) I felt sorry for him. I had a talk with Digvijayaji on the issue. I and Digvijay Singhji have offered him a job. Dr Kafeel also met Digvijayaji. He has met our leader Rahul Gandhiji as well.' 'If the UP government is not giving him justice, then the MP government is ready to take in such a good child specialist,' Masood added.
Khan, who was arrested following the tragedy, was recently given a clean chit in an Uttar Pradesh government inquiry, the report of which was released late last month. Talking to reporters, Khan said he was in Bhopal for a holiday along with his family.
Notably, Dr Kafeel Khan, was arrested after the death of more than 60 children in a hospital in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur in 2017. He called the tragedy a massacre that took place for "10 per cent commission", and hit out at Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
The tragedy at Baba Raghav Das Medical College, which shook the nation and made headlines worldwide, began with the death of 30 children on the night of August 10 that year, followed by 34 more deaths in the days to follow.
While many of the infants died allegedly due to disruption in oxygen supply because of pending payments to the supplier, the UP government had maintained that the deaths were caused by Japanese encephalitis.
Khan, then a paediatrician at the state-run hospital, was accused of negligence. He was suspended and later arrested following an outrage over the infant deaths.
Khan said, "The massacre happened for just 10 per cent commission. It is not a tragedy, it is a man-made massacre. I am moving the Allahabad High Court shortly to get justice for the deceased and seek punishment for the culprits. I have immense respect for judiciary and the Constitution."
Attacking Adityanath, Khan, currently out on bail, said the Uttar Pradesh chief minister had, on August 13 that year, told him, "I will see you". Khan said the contractor supplying oxygen to the hospital at the time had written 14 letters, including to the UP CM, for release of pending payments, but nothing happened.