The authorities of city’s Sikder Medical College & Hospital on Wednesday suspended Dr Shafiul Azam on charge of assaulting the journalist. Principal of the College Maj Gen (retd) Bijoy Kumar Sarker told this to media.
Shishir Morol, special correspondent of Bengali daily Prothom Alo, was assaulted and kept confined in a room in the hospital for over two hours by Dr Shafiul Azam, Chief Cardiologist of the hospital, and other doctors on Tuesday. He was later admitted to Bangabandhu Mujib Medical University and he is now under treatment.
Shishir filed case with Hazaribagh Police Station on Tuesday night in this regard. In the case, he said that he went to the Hospital to investigate an allegation that Shafiul Azam had been working full-time at hospital without taking leave from Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH). Earlier, when he had sought comments on the matter from the doctor over the phone, the doctor asked him to pay a visit at the hospital.
The Principal of the medical college formed a three-member probe committee to investigate the allegation and the incident.
On the other hand, Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council (BMCD) issued a show cause notice asking the hospital to explain how it has recruited a government doctor. It also sought explanation on how the hospital authorities appointed him as professor when he is an assistant professor at the CMCH, said BMDC president Abu Shafi Ahmed Amin. The executive and disciplinary committees of the BMDC will sit today (Thursday) to decide the fate of Shafiul Azam, he added.
Meanwhile, journalists formed a human chain in front of the National Press Club under the banner of Health Reporter’s Forum protesting the incident of the assault. They issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the government to arrest the accused. They also demanded cancellation of the registration of the doctors.
After the human chain, the journalist submitted a memorandum to the State Minister for Health Zahid Malek and Health Secretary MM Neazuddin at their Secretariat office. The five demands include formation of laws banning frequent strikes by the doctors, withdrawal of restrictions on journalists’ entry into the hospitals and punishment to the doctors who denied medical care of a photojournalist at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital recently. The State Minister assured of taking legal actions against the doctor.
Meanwhile, a faction of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) and Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ) and Dhaka Reporters’ Unity (DRU) protested and condemned the attack on the journalist.
