TCN News
Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) has welcomed the release of Dr Kafeel Khan, who has been repeatedly imprisoned by the Uttar Pradesh government on false criminal charges.
In its latest statement, IAMC has also welcomed the release of activists Devangana Kalita, Farhan Zuberi and Sharjeel Usmani, lauding the UP High Court for rejecting the government’s claim in December last year that Dr Kafeel Khan, the 39-year-old paediatrician had tried to “increase hatred, enmity and disharmony towards Hindus.” It has expressed that the High Court has “unequivocally” ruled that Dr Khan “did not promote hatred or violence” but in fact gave a call for “unity among citizens,” thus exposing the government’s true intent behind incarcerating him. IAMC stated that the Uttar Pradesh government has acted in an “appalling” manner by repeatedly filing false criminal cases against Dr Khan for three years where he had been falsely accused of negligence causing the death of 70 minor patients at a government hospital while the investigations revealed that he had worked day and night to save hundreds of children from death by arranging oxygen cylinders for them from his own money.
IAMC resonated that protesting against the anti-citizenship laws and criticizing the BJP government in India has become a reason for the persecution of Indian Muslims and that the UP state government has been involved in rounding up activists and student leaders for the same. With regards to arrest of students leaders, IAMC Vice President Syed Ali said that the UP government, run by Modi’s BJP party has “viciously attacked, killed and imprisoned hundreds of Muslims over the last seven months in a bid to terrorise India’s largest religious minority” and that it is engaging in a full-blown hate campaign to “browbeat it into submission to the new citizenship law.”
Ahsan Khan of IAMC accused the BJP of “sabotaging the right to protest and the freedom of expression which have long been the cornerstone of Indian democracy.” He discussed that the Indian government must immediately release other human rights defenders such as Ishrat Jahan, Natasha Narwal, Meeran Haider, Sharjeel Imam, Khalid Saifi, Akhil Gogoi, Dhairjya Konwar, Bittu Sonowal, Manash Konwar and others who were arrested during the anti-CAA protests.
IAMC has also demanded the release of former Gujarat-cadre IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt, poet Varavara Rao, Ex-DU Professor GN Saibaba, Anand Teltumbde and Gautam Navlakha.