A fight broke out between the injured in the student-public uprising and the staff of the National Orthopaedic Hospital and Rehabilitation Center (Pangu Hospital). Eyewitnesses said that the incident took place in front of the hospital around 11:30 am on Monday. Due to this, the emergency department of the hospital was closed for about six hours from 11:30 am to 5:30 pm. This caused extreme suffering to people who came to the hospital for treatment.
After the fight, army and police members were present at Pangu Hospital since morning to control the situation. In the afternoon, the injured in the uprising met with the hospital director. Then, ticket sales and medical services began in the emergency department from 5:30 pm.
On condition of anonymity, some hospital staff said that the hospital staff and the injured in the uprising have been in conflict for the past few days. As a result, some of the injured beat up a blood bank employee on Sunday night. In protest of this incident, the staff took a stand in front of the hospital on Monday morning. Then they were attacked.
However, the people injured in the mass uprising said that other injured people went to the blood bank on Sunday night to get blood for one of the injured in the movement. At that time, they were not given blood. They were asked to collect blood by bribing through a broker’s circle. At one point in the argument, one of the injured in the movement was beaten up. When he went to the physiotherapy department for treatment in the morning, the hospital staff beat up one of the injured. This led to a fight. At least five of them were injured in the incident.
A person named Korban Sheikh Hillol, on behalf of the injured in the movement, told Prothom Alo that a broker’s syndicate is active in Pangu Hospital. The hospital authorities have been repeatedly told to eliminate these brokers. But they are not listening. When they went to collect blood on Sunday night, they also fell into the clutches of the broker’s circle. When they tried to talk about this, the injured people were attacked. On Monday morning, the hospital staff brought outsiders and attacked the injured again.
Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Tejgaon Division of Police Md. Ibn Mizan told Prothom Alo that a meeting was held with the hospital director and other concerned parties after the fight between the workers of Pangu Hospital and those injured in the protest. Initiatives are being taken to avoid such incidents.
What the hospital director said
There was tension at Pangu Hospital throughout the day due to the fight between the workers of Pangu Hospital and those injured in the protest. An Ansar member was also seriously injured in the fight. He is undergoing treatment at Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital.
In addition, people who came to seek treatment were in trouble as the emergency department was closed for about six hours. Many patients did not receive emergency treatment at the hospital throughout the day. In the afternoon, some people were seen sitting in front of the emergency department with a two-year-old child from Narsingdi. Md. Yasin, a family member of the child, said that they had been sitting in the hospital with the child for three hours. The child was crying and falling asleep. Then he woke up and cried again. No one from the hospital was helping them.
Later, after a meeting with the injured in the protest at 5 pm, the hospital director Md. Abul Kenan told reporters that a tense situation arose at the blood bank last night (Sunday) over blood collection. There was a misunderstanding between the hospital staff and some of the people injured in the July coup. This also led to a scuffle. In this situation, a tense situation arose among the staff in the morning. This led to a fight, which is unfortunate. Those injured in the incident will be provided with treatment.
Stating that detailed information will be collected about those involved in the chaos and fight in the hospital, the hospital director said that it has not yet been possible to collect complete information about the incident that occurred here. After collecting CCTV footage and other information, if anyone is responsible, action will be taken against the hospital staff. A decision will be taken after monitoring everything. He requested everyone to be patient for at least the next 24 hours.
The people injured in the mass coup claim that outsiders attacked them. In this regard, Abul Kenan said, “We were in a situation of siege here. We are not aware of the situation outside. We can say that based on the footage of the closed circuit (CC) camera and other information.’
Regarding the syndicate at the hospital, the director said, ‘I will seek the help of everyone, including those injured in the anti-discrimination movement, to make the institution free from brokers. I will request the law enforcement agencies to help me find out how to make this institution free from brokers.’
The director said that 106 people injured during the July uprising are currently admitted to Pangu Hospital. So far, 891 people have received treatment at this hospital.
