Bangladesh doctors condemn 'harassment' by law enforcement, police hit back

The Bangladesh Medical Association and Police Service Association have each weighed in on an altercation between a doctor and law enforcers during the ongoing coronavirus-induced lockdown, with each side blaming the other for misconduct.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 19 April 2021, 06:51 PM
Updated : 19 April 2021, 06:51 PM

In a statement issued on Monday, the doctors' group called for immediate action over the alleged harassment the doctor was subjected to by the police over her ID card.

Police, meanwhile, accused the doctor of behaving disrespectfully with law enforcers and called for action against her.

After the government imposed strict restrictions on movement with a lockdown on Apr 14 to curb the spread of the coronavirus, police introduced a movement pass to allow emergency travels.

Since then, many doctors have complained about being harassed by the police in the name of checking their movement passes, even though physicians engaged in emergency services need only show their identification while travelling.

Meanwhile, an associate professor of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University was caught in a police search on Elephant Road on Sunday. Then a video of the police officer arguing with him quickly spread on social media.

The medical association highlighted a heated exchange between Dr Syeeda Showkat, an associate professor of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, and law-enforcement officers over her identity in the capital's Elephant Road on Sunday, a video clip of which later went viral on social media.

“Despite producing various credentials, such behaviour of the law-enforcement agencies only in the name of checking for a movement pass and institutional ID card is not desirable at all. There is no evidence that any vehicle with the sticker of the 'secretariat' or 'police' or 'press' has been detained or stopped.”

The BMA complained that the situation had not improved even after the president of the association informed the director general of health services.

"If we do not intervene in the matter as soon as possible and the harassment of doctors and health workers on the streets continues, the doctors and health workers who are already suffering from stress will lose motivation for their work. This is bound to have an impact on the currently fragile health system.”

The Bangladesh Swadhinata Chikitsak Parishad, or SWACHIP, also condemned the 'harassment' of Dr Showkat and urged the university authorities to press for exemplary action against the law enforcers involved in harassing doctors.

According to the organisation, Dr Showkat was heading home from the hospital when the police asked to see her ID. Despite seeing the sticker with the logo of BSMMU on her car and the pass issued by the hospital's director, the police went on to deliberately harass her while dismissing her credentials as “fake”.

Although the government has already stated that doctors will not require a 'movement pass' to travel during the lockdown, Dr Jenny was nevertheless asked to produce it, SWACHIP said.

“We were even more surprised to see that at one stage of the argument, the police compared, Dr Jenny to Papia [former Jubo Mohila League leader arrested for crimes], which is extremely insulting to a female doctor.”

"We believe that through their actions, the police not only humiliated Dr Showkat, but also Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, the medical community and above all, the respected women.

POLICE HIT BACK

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Police Service Association denounced the conduct of Dr Showkat and called for appropriate action against her instead.

In a statement signed by its President DMP Commissioner Shafiqul Islam and General Secretary Narayanganj's Superintendent of Police Md Zaidul Alam, the association said the doctor's behaviour with the executive magistrate and policemen was rude and unbecoming of a professional or conscious citizen.

"She not only insulted those policemen but also mocked and insulted the entire police force. Not only that, but she behaved arrogantly with the police and magistrate by refusing to present her professional ID while highlighted other irrelevant ones and then she attempted to pit two professional organisations against each other."

Expressing shock over the doctor's behaviour, the statement added, "The Bangladesh Police Service Association urges the relevant authority to take appropriate action against the doctor for violating the valid orders of the government and disrespecting the on-duty magistrate and police."