Attendants clash with interns, staff at RMCH

The interns at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) went on a three-hour wildcat strike yesterday, protesting attacks on doctors allegedly by police and relatives of a patient, who died.

Alleging that the patient died following negligent treatment, the relatives assaulted two interns and a staff of the hospital, triggering a clash between them. Later, five more interns were assaulted after police intervened, said the interns.

Tension mounted on the campus as the interns abstained from works between 2:00pm and 5:00pm.

Mosharraf Hossain Khan, vice president of Sonali Bank, Laxmipur branch unit of CBA, who was admitted to the hospital with cancer, was referred to Dhaka Medical College Hospital in the morning.

But he died around noon on his way to DMCH, said RMCH Director Brig Gen Rafikul Islam.

Mosharraf's relatives took the body back to the hospital and assaulted assistant registrar Subrata Ghosh, and two other interns.

Following the incident, angry interns clashed with the relatives and their supporters in front of the emergency department. Three windows were damaged during the clash.

When the interns were demonstrating there, police assaulted RMCH Internee Doctors Council general secretary Tamjidul Haque, slapped its sports secretary Raihan Sharif and dragged him to the director's room. They also tore off the clothes of interns Sajib Kumar Bhattachariaya, Riaz and Shahidul, the interns said.

Sushanto Chandra Roy, an assistant commissioner of Rajshahi Metropolitan Police, said, "Police only chased those who were misbehaving during the clashes, none was assaulted intentionally."

Following a negotiation meeting among the interns, police and the hospital authorities, the interns withdrew the strike. However, they threatened to launch an indefinite strike if a five-point demand is not met in three days.

The demands include arrest of the patient's relatives, removal of the officer-in-charge of Rajpara Police Station Mahmudur Rahman and ensuring security of doctors inside the hospital.