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Published : 22 Mar 2016, 03:01 PM
He died in Dhaka’s Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in the early hours of Tuesday. He was 70.
Dr Akhtar Ahmed was among the central figures who set up ‘Bangladesh Hospital’, a temporary medical centre at Agartala’s Motinagar as the Liberation War raged in 1971.
A military doctor, he treated freedom fighters and also took part in direct battle.
Captain Akhtar had successfully led a company of soldiers during the war, Sector 2 Commander Khaled Mosharraf had later said in an interview.
His son Tanim Ahmed said his father had been suffering from diabetes and heart ailments.
He felt a chest pain and was taken to the CMH from his home at Banani DOHS. He died there at around 3am.
His Namaz-e-Janaza will be held after Asr prayers at the Cantonment Central Mosque. The freedom fighter will then be buried at the Banani Military Graveyard.
Dr Ahmed completed his studies in 1970 and began his career as a physician at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
He later joined Pakistan Army Medical Corps. He was first stationed at Comilla Cantonment as a captain. The Fourth East Bengal Regiment was moved out of there before the war began in 1971 and Akhtar Ahmed was sent off to Brahmanbarhia with a unit.
Capt Akhtar was among the soldiers who staged a rebellion on Mar 27 and followed Maj Shafayat Jamil to join the freedom struggle.
He was then called back from the frontline by Maj Khaled Mosharraf who instructed him to set up a hospital with some medical interns who had taken refuge in Agartala after fleeing Dhaka.
So, the first hospital for freedom fighters was set up with just a few tents. The hospital was, however, moved from the bordering area because of security concerns.
Akhtar Ahmed was honoured with the title Bir Partik in 1973 for his brave contributions to Bangladesh’s liberation.
His book ‘Barbar Fire Jai’ is about the psychological crisis suffered by Bengali officers and soldiers who were on the verge of a rebellion while the rest of the nation was headed for war.
Dr Akhtar retired from the army in 1976 and spent several years in Libya where he worked as a doctor.
He joined the family planning department at the health ministry on his return but left the job to start a business. The doctor then penned ‘Garite Europe Bhromon’, a travel story about travelling Europe by a car.
His younger brother Manjur Ahmed is also a freedom fighter and a Bir Pratik. Their ancestral home was at Wari’s Abhoy Das Lane.
