Rajshahi University (RU) teachers and students demanded 9 points including the removal of the director of Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) Brigediar general Shamim Yazdani for ‘making the intern doctors attack the agitating Rajshahi University students’ on Wednesday night following the incident of a RU student’s death.
The demands were placed in a human chain on Sunday (23, October) at 11 am at the main entrance of Rajshahi University, where more than a thousand students from different departments of the university joined.
The other demands are to immediately remove the intern doctors, nurses, ward boys and Ansars through proper investigation, who were involved in the assault on Shahriar's classmates, to stop RMCH’s mismanagement and harassment to mass people in the name of formalities, extortion and collusion with private clinics, to break the existing commercial syndicate in RMCH, to withdraw the unexpected speech against RU students of the lawmaker of Rajshahi-2 constituency Fazle Hossain Badsha and publicly apologize for the speech.
They also demanded to stop the rude behaviour of the intern doctors to the patients and guardians, to ensure emergency treatment in the presence of senior doctors, to simplify ICU system for emergency patients, and Rajshahi University administration should immediately reveal the true incident happened on Wednesday night through a press conference.
Addressing the human chain Marketing department student Md Rifat said, “This is not the first incident where the medical doctor and staff victimized mass people and filed a case against them after being protested. Earlier in 2018, one of our Law department teachers was beaten rather than providing proper treatment.”
Bangladesh Chhatra League Rajshahi University unit general secretary Faisal Ahmed Runu said, “Shahriar could have survived if he would get treatment in time. Later, they filed a case against our class fellows without providing a probe report.”
“We demand proper punishment against those who attacked our class fellows and withdraw the case filed against RU students,” Runu stated.
Another Marketing department student Md Sayem told that RMCH doctors cared about their flower tubs more than our class fellow Shahriar’s life that night.
Marketing department Prof. Suvra Rani Chanda said, “We condemn the RMCH’s director’s cooperation in the human chain of medical doctors and staff without investigation, where it’s clear that they attacked our students and they are still under treatment.”
“We demand the removal of the director of RMCH as he led the attack on our students.
Even if he is a brigadier general, he is not out of punishment,” stated Professor Suvra.
Marketing department chairman Prof. M. Faridul Islam said, “Our students staged a demo on that night in a peaceful way. But later the director of RMCH and lawmaker Badsha's role was unwise.”
“Why such a bullshit procedure should be important when a person is in a critical condition? Journalists are also not allowed in the hospital. There must be some problem.”
“The intern doctors and staff attacked RU students on that night that could result in us getting another dead body,” he added.
Rajshahi University proctor Professor Ashabul Haque said that he felt mass people helpless to the director of RMCH as he told him that if the Prime Minister applies for the ICU, she will have to go under a procedure.
University teachers condemned the role of Rajshahi-2 MP Fazle Hossain Badsha and the students declared him unwelcomed on the Rajshahi University campus as he talked against the university students in a human chain held at RMCH premises on Saturday.
However, after two days of RMCH’s filing a case against RU students, the Rajshahi University (RU) authorities on Saturday (22, October) filed a First Information Report with the Rajpara Police Station against RMCH intern doctors, nurses, staff and Ansar members on charges of beating and injuring the university students on Wednesday night.
Meanwhile, The intern doctors of Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) went into abstention from work for 72 hours on Saturday demanding the arrest of those RU students who vandalized the hospital on the same night in connection with the death of a Rajshahi University student.
The university authorities also formed two separate probe bodies. One is to investigate how the deceased student fell off the corridor of the hall and another is to investigate the entire incident on Wednesday night at the hospital premises.
They were asked to submit their reports within three days.
Earlier on Wednesday, MGM Shahriar, a final year student of Marketing department of Rajshahi University, fell from the corridor of Shaheed Habibur Rahman hall’s 3rd floor at around 8 pm.
When he was taken to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital in a seriously injured condition, the doctor in charge declared him dead.
Alleging negligence in Shahriar’s treatment, his classmates started protesting and vandalising the hospital.
At that time, some intern doctors and hospital staff also beat up the protesting students, leaving five of them injured.
Later, on that night, the intern doctors left the hospital at 12:00am in protest against the attack and vandalism.