'Most of them had lost parts of their skulls'

A total of 167 injured protesters were admitted to the National Institute of Neurosciences & Hospital during last year's July uprising, and most of them had lost parts of their skulls, a doctor told the International Crimes Tribunal-1 today.

"Altogether 575 gunshot victims came to the hospital. Although many required admission, we could not admit all of them due to pressure. We admitted 167. Four were brought in dead, and 29 died while under treatment," Mahfuzur Rahman, an on-duty physician at the hospital, told the tribunal.

He said that he and his team performed 33 operations to remove bullets and pellets from the bodies of protesters, many of whom had lost parts of their skulls.

The doctor further told the tribunal that on July 19 last year, he was pressured by Detective Branch (DB) officers not to treat or admit victims shot during protests.

"Do not be overenthusiastic. You will be in danger. Do not release those who have already been admitted. There are instructions from above. Legal action will be taken against them," he quoted the officers as saying.

He added that doctors were forced to alter hospital records to conceal the true nature of injuries.

"At that time, we tactically changed the injury descriptions in the admission register, recording causes such as road accidents instead of gunshot wounds, so that we could still treat the severely injured students," he said.

The physician demanded death penalty for Sheikh Hasina as well as former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, former road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader, former state minister for information Arafat, and police officers accused of carrying out their orders.

The International Crimes Tribunal-1 is continuing to hear witness testimonies in the case against ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and two of her top aides over alleged crimes against humanity committed during the July uprising.

So far, 14 witnesses have testified.