Sick juvenile inmate dies, allegations raised of delays in treatment

A juvenile inmate, who had been in Gazipur's Toni Kishore Unnayan Kendra for nearly three months, died today after becoming sick.

The sixteen-year-old boy, hailing from Brahmanbaria, breathed his last at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital around 10:00am, the Kishore Development Center supervisor Ahiatuzzaman told our Gazipur correspondent.

Gazipur District Social Services Deputy Director SM Anwarul Karim alleged that the boy died as he did not "receive treatment" in time.

He said the inmate became sick around 10:00pm yesterday at the correction centre. He was first taken to Tongi Shaheed Ahsan Ullah Master General Hospital. The hospital, without providing any treatment, referred him to Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital.

As his condition deteriorated, he was moved to the DMCH, where he died this morning.

Anwarul said, "We tried but the boy did not receive the treatment fast enough after becoming ill."

He said when such patients are taken to Tongi Ahsan Ullah Master General Hospital from the juvenile centre, some doctors of the hospital refer the patients to other hospitals right away.

"The boy had some problems. It was possible to provide him proper treatment there," said the deputy director.

Ahsan Ullah Master General Hospital Resident Medical Officer Tariq Hasan told The Daily Star that no such patient was taken to the hospital.

However, the correspondent obtained a referral slip, which was issued by the authorities of Ahsan Ullah Master General Hospital, from Anwarul Karim.

The boy's father, Suman Mia, sought justice for son's death following proper investigation.