SMCH intern doctors on strike

Intern doctors at Dhaka’s Sir Salimullah Medical College and Hospital (SMCH), better known as Mitford hospital, have gone on strike in protest against a case filed by Ekushey TV (ETV) over the assault of its newsmen.

The private TV channel’s director Md Zahidul Islam filed the case at the Dhaka’s Metropolitan Magistrate’s court on Monday in connection with the manhandling of the channel’s newspersons on Saturday.

The channel said their reporters and camerapersons had been assaulted when they had gone to the hospital to “report a story”.

The TV channel has blamed hospital director Brig Gen Md Zakir Hossain, intern doctors Shahin, Shaon, Shoaib and Nayeem for the assault.

Intern doctor Moaibul Islam Shoaib, president of the medical college’s Bangladesh Chhatra League unit, said 207 intern doctors stopped work from 2pm onwards .

Shoaib is one of the accused.

Magistrate Keshab Roy Chowdhury admitted the TV channel’s complainant and ordered the Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police to file a report on May 11.

The intern doctors had allegedly beaten up ETV and ATN Bangla reporters on Apr 19 in the hospital director’s presence and prevented telecast of the news.

When another two reporters and a cameraman arrived, the camera was smashed, the complaint said.

The newsmen were also apparently held hostage at the director’s office.

ETV News Editor Ibrahim Azad and Chief Correspondent Mahathir Faruqui arrived at the hospital after their reporters failed to send their despatches, but the hospital authorities allegedly misbehaved with them.

The damaged equipment cost the TV company about Tk 1.7 million, the complaint said.