Interns at Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College and Hospital started their work abstention on Thursday protesting a health ministry directive suspending its four interns —Nurjahan Binte Islam Naz, Md Ashiquzzaman Asif, Md Kutub Uddin, and MA Al Mamun — for six months.
Later, interns at several medical colleges and hospitals in Rajshahi, Barisal and Sylhet expressed solidarity with the strike of interns at Ziaur Rahman Medical College and Hospital and went on work abstention.
In Sylhet, interns at different medical colleges and hospitals — Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College and Hospital, Ragib-Rabeya Medical College and Hospital, Northeast Medical College and Hospital and Sylhet Women’ Medical College Hospital — started their work abstention on Saturday, demanding withdrawal of the suspension order of the four Bogra interns.
In Barisal, interns at Sher-e-Bangla Medical College and Hospital also began the strike from Saturday noon.
In Rajshahi, interns at Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital abstained from work on Saturday morning to push for the same demand.
The trouble began on February 9 when a group of interns of the hospital beat a patient’s attendant following an altercation.
According to hospital sources, Alauddin Sarkar, 60, of Konagati in Sirajganj, was admitted to the hospital at midnight. Soon after his admission, Alauddin’s son Rauf locked into an altercation with an intern over switching on a fan.
At one stage of their argument, the intern called his colleagues, took Rauf to a separate room and beat him up. Later, the agitators locked the emergency unit of the hospital and went on an indefinite strike, citing that they were insulted by Alauddin’s relatives.
A probe body led by additional secretary Habibur Rahman was formed to investigate the incident on February 23 and the offenders were punished following the submission of the probe report.
Source: New Age
