Condition of Kafeel Khan's brother deteriorates, shifted from Gorakhpur to Lucknow hospital

Dr Kafeel Khan's brother, Kashif Jameel who was shot at on Sunday night has been shifted to Lucknow's King George Medical University after his medical condition deteriorated.

Jameel was shot at by unidentified assailants near JP Hospital in Gorakhnath area in Gorakhpur on late Sunday night.

He suffered bullet injuries on his arm, neck, and chin and was admitted at a local hospital, where his condition started deteriorating in the wee hours on Tuesday.

It is pertinent to mention that Kafeel Khan was suspended and arrested after the death of 30 kids in the Baba Raghav Das Medical College/Hospital, in Gorakhpur allegedly due to oxygen shortage.

Earlier, Dr Khan had blamed Gorakhpur Police for delaying the removal of the bullet from his neck. Moreover, they took Kashif to BRD Medical College for a repeat MLC when the same had already been done at the Gorakhpur District Hospital. Doctors at the BRD Medical College, however, refused to entertain police requests for a repeat MLC.

"There was an inordinate delay of over four hours. We had shown his CT scans and other reports to the cops to prove it was an emergency case so that they let the operation start at the soonest,” said Dr Kafeel Khan.

The guidelines on such emergency cases are clear — treatment of medico-legal cases will precede medico-legal formalities. Despite the clear directives, the Gorakhpur Police forcibly took Kashif away from Star Hospital to complete the medico-legal formalities. This happened, not once, but twice, for some 'unknown' reasons.

A well-wisher of the family made a video on the 15-minute verbal spat between adamant police officers, Dr Kafeel’s family and well-wishers at Star Hospital. The video shows police officers forcibly taking Kashif away for the MLC instead of allowing the doctors to perform the urgent surgery to stabilise his condition.

Under the guidelines, the doctor attending to the patient is held accountable in a court of law and not the police. Then why did the Gorakhpur Police overstep their brief?

"It was not required. We had completed the initial medico-legal formalities and had kept all records ready for the police as per guidelines. This wasted almost four hours. The patient could have slipped into a coma or could have even died due to medical negligence for want of urgent treatment," said a surgeon at Star Hospital.

"Luckily, the patient had developed very few neurological problems and was in a semi-unconscious state when he was brought back," said the surgeon. Dr Khan and his family, however, did not lodge any complaint in this regard. "We have got life threats. I am happy that my younger brother survived the murder attempt. We have lodged an FIR and the SSP has assured us of taking adequate steps," Dr Khan said.