‘Assaulting’ cop removed

Dhaka district Additional Superintendent of Police ABM Masud Hossain has been removed from his position over an alleged assault on doctors at BIRDEM Hospital.

Police spokesperson AKM Qamrul Ahsan confirmed the “withdrawal” to bdnews24.com on Wednesday afternoon.

The move came in the wake of a doctors’ strike at the hospital spilling over to the second day.

Health Minister Mohammad Nasim on Wednesday also threatened to cancel health services for the police force.

Relatives of a patient went on the rampage and assaulted doctors at BIRDEM, alleging negligent treatment causing the patient’s death on Sunday night.

The doctors went on strike on Tuesday protesting the assault and blaming Masud Hossain for it.

The strike left hundreds of patients suffering since then and many were seen stranded at the hospital’s outdoor section and various other units on Wednesday.

The 600-bed multidisciplinary hospital has almost 450 doctors. Its outdoor section, which runs from 8am to 2pm, treats up to 4,000 patients every day.

Meanwhile, the health minister, earlier in the day, had asked the home ministry to withdraw the police officer immediately and take punitive measures against him.

"Otherwise, all government health services for police and all police hospitals across the country will be closed,” he had warned.

Former Home Minister Mohammad Nasim said the police officer should have filed a complaint against the doctors if there indeed was any negligence.

"We (the health ministry) could have taken action against them, but why did you beat the doctors?" he said referring to the officer.

Nasim had asked State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to take action against those involved after leaders of the medical fraternity met him on Tuesday.