Arifur Rahman Rabbi :
An elderly female Rawshan Ara came to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) hospital nearly two years ago with kidney problem. After several tests and diagnosis, doctors found her with a kidney almost dysfunctional.
She was then decided for an operation with left kidney. But unfortunately on the operation table, the doctors not only cut off the damaged kidney, also removed the good one as well. Thus the woman lost her both kidneys, alleged her family.
The incident took place in September, 2018 and the victim at last died one month later. Her son Rafique Sikder, a film director, spent two years in police stations and hospitals seeking justice for his mother’s death. Finally, a case was filed with Shahbagh police station on November 27 last year in this connection.
Rafique told The New Nation over cell phone on Sunday, the doctors accused for removal of the good kidney, admitted their irresponsibility and signed a contract paper to transplant a kidney for the victim. By the time, the woman died. ‘We have moved to the police station and also to BSMMU authority for two years for justice’, said Rafique.
Police told us that they were investigating the matter. ‘We have lost our mother. We want exemplary punishment to the doctors who killed my mother’, Rafique said. He also claimed that the National Human Rights Commission of Bangladesh gave their investigation report against the accused doctors. But the BSMMU authority does not take any initiative still against the accused. The accused are still doing job at the hospital after killing a man.
However, National Human Rights Commission Chairman Nasima Begum refused to make any comment on this issue while contacted.
BSMMU Director Brig. Gen. Dr Zulfiquer Ahmed Amin told The New Nation recently that they formed a probe committee regarding this matter. But the report of that committee didn’t have any recommendation to suspended or withdraw them from work.
Dr Zulfiquer also said, it is now matter of the court. So we will take further initiative according to the court instruction.
Harun-Or-Rashid, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Ramna zone of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), said that the accused of the case are in bail. And the case has been transferred to DMP’s Detective Branch (DB). They are now investigating into the matter.
DB’s Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Mishu Biswas told The New Nation that the investigation is going on. They are analyzing the reports.
Rafique Sikder said that his mother felt pain in her left kidney on June 26, 2018. She was later admitted to a hospital in the city’s Mirpur. The day after the examination, it was found that she had a problem developed in left kidney. The doctor advised his mother to get admitted to BSMMU Hospital for better treatment.
On the same day, his mother was admitted to the cabin block of BSMMU under Professor Dr Habibur Rahman (Dulal). His mother was released after her condition improved on July 15.
Later, they went for another test from the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission on August 12 as per advice of a doctor and it was found that his mother’s right kidney was completely normal, he added.
He also said that doctor at BSMMU hospital Syed Sultan had asked over his mobile phone to come to the hospital and advised to fix the date of his mother’s surgery, on the basis of empty bed on August 27. Accused Dr Habibur had set time September 5 as the date for removal of the affected left kidney.
Earlier tests showed that his mother’s right kidney was functional. That day Dr Habibur, Associate Professor Farooq Hossain, Mohammad Mostafa Kamal and Al Mamun have completed surgery of his mother taking time around three hours. When Rawshan Ara’s condition was deteriorated at night, doctors advised him to shift the patient to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Rafique said.
At that time the on duty doctor said that his mother’s kidney was not working well after the surgery. The ICU bed in the hospital was not empty; so she must be taken to any private hospital.
In the morning, Rawshan Ara was admitted to Insaf Barakah Kidney and General Hospital at Maghbazar. She was examined at Lab Aid Hospital to find out why her right kidney was not working on September 7. The next day a doctor at hospital said that Rawshan Ara did not have any kidney, he further added.
The son of the deceased Rawshan Ara also said that his mother was re-admitted to BSMMU. When contacted with Dr Habibur regarding this matter, he said not to be confused by reports or other people’s words, his mother will recover. Rawshan Ara was later admitted to BRB Hospital under Professor Abdus Samad of the Department of Nephrology. He gave some tests and said that no kidney was seen in the patient after reviewing the report.
He had complained the hospital authority about the matter. And the news had spread through the media.
At that time, Dr Dulal told various media that he suspected Rawshan Ara’s right kidney had also become useless. That’s why it was not shown in the report. In another television interview, he also said that the kidneys could be visible after six weeks. The patient would recover, Rafique claimed.
At one stage, Dr Habibur signed a contract with him in the Film Directors Association on October 1. There he accepted responsibility for removal of good kidney.
He promised at that time, he would ensure of transplant a new kidney and pay for it. Later, his aunt Zaida Begum agreed to donate a kidney but he did not take any further initiative, he claimed and adding that he had all kinds of documents related to this.
But they did not take any action and his mother died at around 10.45 pm on October 31. The next day he went to Shahbagh police station for filing a case regarding the matter but the police filed his complain as a general diary (GD) which number – 53. Police told them the case would be filed after getting the autopsy report.
Around two years later, police took the case against BSMMU hospital Dr Habibur Rahman Dulal, Farooq Hossain, Md Mostafa Kamal and Al Mamun on November 27.
However, while this correspondent approached Dr Habibur Rahman Dulal to comment on this issue, he refrained from making any comment and only said that “It is under trial, he will give answers there.”
