Kafeel Khan recounts Gorakhpur hospital tragedy, ensuing fight in new book

Dr Kafeel Khan's new book titled 'The Gorakhpur Hospital Tragedy, A Doctor's Memoir of a Deadly Medical Crisis' recounts the doctor's version of the controversial August 2017 Gorakhpur hospital tragedy and takes one through the subsequent developments that kept him on the firing line since.

"My book is an honest, heartfelt account of the terrible events of 10 Aug 2017 and after. I dedicate it to all the parents who lost their children in the tragedy. This book is dedicated to those 63 children and 18 adults," says Khan. "I thought of giving readers facts and evidence. This is not only the story about me. It is about kids and adults who died, and about families who are waiting for justice."

63 children died in the Gorakhpur tragedy which took place on August 7, 2017. Khan was suspended from Baba Raghav Das Medical College's Nehru Hospital after the incident. He was jailed and terminated from service in November '21 after a long legal battle. He still has cases pending against him in various courts. The book, Khan said, exposes the real cuplrits and the system's failures.

The book also talks of the"gut-wrenching turmoil that followed - a suspension without end, an eight-month-long incarceration and a relentless fight for justice in the face of extreme apathy and persecution," Khan said. "The most important point the book talks about is the broken health system. The system collapsed. It also talks about doctors' struggle. The poor and the marginalised community depend on public hospitals. I have talked about the public health system," Khan said.

When asked if the book release was timed keeping the upcoming UP polls in mind, Khan said that he has been writing the book for a long time.