DMCH interns assault DU students, journos

Interns at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) today beat up two students of Dhaka University and attacked journalists when they went to cover a clash triggered by the assault.

The trainee doctors later stopped the service at the emergency and causality department of DMCH -- the country's biggest hospital.

The hospital authorities resumed the services around 4:25pm, around three and half an hours of the suspension.

DMCH Director Brig Gen Mustafizur Rahman announced the decision after a meeting with the representatives of the doctors and the DU.

The barriers on entering new patients and relatives of the already admitted patients have been lifted.

Immediately after the clash, the interns barred new patients from entering the hospital and did not allow the relatives to meet the patients admitted at the hospital or supply food, our correspondent at the stop reports.

All the trouble started around 11:30am over getting into an elevator.

Some interns manhandled DU students Shuvo and Samrat and driven them out of the lift in the extended part of the hospital.

On information of the assault, around 70 to 80 DU students equipped with sticks and iron rods went on the rampage in the hospital and attacked some doctors around 11:45am, said inspector Mozammel Haque, in-charge of DMCH police camp.

As journalists rushed in to cover incident, the interns created obstructions and attacked them. The trainee doctors also vandalised a camera of the private television channel ATN News, leaving its photojournalist Himel injured.

Additional police forces have been deployed in the area to avert any farther chaos at the hospital premises, he said.

Normalcy is yet to return till filing this report at 3:00pm.

Earlier, Shuvo and Samrat went to the hospital to visit ailing mother of their senior fellow at the DU.