‘UP Police will kill me’, says Dr Kafeel Khan after arrest over anti-CAA remarks

Dr Kafeel Khan, who was arrested from the Mumbai international airport on Wednesday evening by the Special Task Force (STF) of Uttar Pradesh Police, was produced before a metropolitan magistrate court in Bandra on Thursday afternoon. But before the UP Police could seek his transit remand, Dr Khan said in the open court, “UP Police will kill me in a fake encounter.”

He was arrested for allegedly delivering an inflammatory speech during a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in December last year.

Dr Khan told the magistrate’s court in Mumbai that he was not being given a lawyer, and then he made an appeal in the open court to the lawyers standing in the courtroom. But no lawyer came forward to represent him. In fact, a group of lawyers even said ‘no’ loudly in the court.

After sometime, one lawyer Alka Sharma agreed to represent him.

Dr Khan then told the court, “UP Police will kill me. The UP government is trying to falsely frame me. The court can watch the entire video. I have not said anything provocative. But still, if the case against me has to be pursued, please keep me in Mumbai.”

Dr Khan’s lawyer told in court that sedition charges were not applicable on him. He only gave his opinion on how CAA will impact Muslims, said the lawyer.

“We fear that UP Police will kill him in an encounter. He got a clean chit in the Gorakhpur children death case. But because he is putting pressure on UP government to nab the actual culprits, he is being framed,” said the lawyer.

Uttar Pradesh Police chief OP Singh said, “This is wrong that we will fabricate any wrong or false case against him. As far as encounter is concerned let me make it very clear to him and everybody that we believe in the rule of law and our preliminary aim is to arrest people and not to kill people. His apprehension is unfounded; he should not feel like this.”

“He will be prosecuted before the court as per the law. We have arrested him as per the hate speech that he delivered at AMU on December 12. We have nothing to do with his past. We are charging him and going ahead just for his present case,” Singh added.

He was booked under Sections 153 (A) and was arrested at the airport when he arrived in Mumbai to attend anti-CAA protests.