DMCH doctors threaten strike after assault on colleague

A doctor at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) was allegedly assaulted yesterday after the death of a private university student there, with some of his peers accusing the physicians of neglecting their duty in his treatment.
In response, DMCH doctors and students issued a 24-hour ultimatum, threatening a complete shutdown of the hospital if their demand for the identification and punishment of the alleged attackers was not met.
The incident occurred after the death of Ahsanul Islam Dipto, a 24-year-old civil engineering student at the Bangladesh University of Business and Technology (BUBT). Dipto was severely injured in a motorcycle accident on Friday night on Dhaka-Mymensingh Road in the Cantonment area. Passersby brought him to DMCH, where he succumbed to his injuries yesterday morning.
Sub-Inspector Augustine Milton D’Costa of Cantonment Police Station confirmed that Dipto died in a road accident, and the body was handed over to the family without an autopsy as they did not file any complaint.
Following Dipto’s death, some of his peers accused the doctors of negligence in his treatment and assaulted a doctor on the second floor of the emergency department in the afternoon.
Members of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, which led the recent mass uprising, along with the DMCH director and army officers, held a meeting to address the situation.
Around 9:30pm, speaking to the media, medical students and doctors expressed concerns about the frequent harassment of and assaults on healthcare professionals, saying that accusations of negligence should be handled by proper authorities, not through assaults.
Questioning the working conditions, they warned that if the perpetrators were not identified and punished within 24 hours, they would go on strike. They also demanded strict security measures for all medical staff at DMCH and other hospitals, including the deployment of military personnel to maintain order.
Professor Dr Kamrul Alam, acting principal of DMCH, expressed solidarity with his students and assured them of taking appropriate action.