How would I see a doctor now?

Still reeling from physical and emotional trauma of getting severely beaten up by doctors on Monday night, Moinul Alam Rocket is now too sacred to see a doctor for his injuries.

The 33-year-old man and his cousin, son of a patient at M Abdur Rahim Medical College Hospital (MARMCH) in Dinajpur, were knocked around indiscriminately by a gang of interns and doctors of the hospital after they protested physical assault on the patient's wife.   

Later that night, the attackers handed over the two cousins to police, but police released them hours later as no case was filed against them.

Bruised and battered Moinul still has not gone to a doctor and is taking medicines only from local drugstores. “How would I go see a doctor now to get treatment for my injuries?” he said while talking to this correspondent yesterday.   

On Monday, Moinul went to MARMCH to see his maternal uncle Aminul Islam, 55, who was admitted to the hospital's medicine ward in the afternoon after being diagnosed with tuberculosis, he said.

Moinul's aunt, 47-year-old Begum, was staying with her husband as an attendant at the ward.

Around 10:30pm, a physician by the name of Dr Foysal asked his aunt what medicines she had given to the patient. The doctor became upset when she told him that she had given the patient all but three of the four prescribed medicines, as instructed by another doctor who had come to the ward earlier. 

When Moinul's aunt argued that she only followed instructions of another doctor, Dr Foysal became extremely furious. And suddenly, to her shock, his aunt found herself getting punched by the doctor in the back of her shoulder, Moinul said.

Hearing the incident nearly 30 minutes later, Moinul, his cousin and a few other relatives went on the hospital's third floor where the medicine ward is located. 

Dr Foysal did not answer to anyone when the concerned relatives asked him about the reason for attacking the woman. But instead, he kept making calls on his cellphone, Moinul added.

Within a few minutes, a huge number of interns were came running to the ward and attacked Moinul and his relatives. At one stage all but he and his cousin managed to flee the wrath of the doctors.

The mob of doctors then swooped on Moinul and his cousin after locking up all exit ways of the ward. His relatives, however, could not leave the hospital complex as the doctors locked down all gates of the complex.

“They pounced on us and beat us up mercilessly. They locked up all the gates of the hospital so none of us could get away,” Moinul also said.

Showing his injuries on his back, he said, “Many people saw how brutally they attacked us. What was my fault?”

However, on Tuesday, Dr Ishrak Shahriar Angel, president of Intern Doctors' Association of MARMCH, claimed that relatives of the patient had assaulted them physically.

Ruling out his claim, a witness requesting anonymity said, “Everything will be clear if the CCTV footage is reviewed.”

This correspondent was unable to reach Dr Mohammad Shahjahan, director of MARMCH, for his comments on Tuesday after waiting at his office for half an hour.

The same day, interns and doctors of MARMCH staged a demonstration against an alleged attack on them. During the time, they confined over 1,000 patients and attendants to the hospital building for nine hours by locking up all exits.