What action taken against them?
What action taken against them?
HC asks RMCH authorities about denial of injured journo's treatment by interns
As some interns in Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) denied medical care to a photojournalist two days ago, the High Court yesterday ordered the authorities concerned to submit a report to it on what action has been taken against the interns.
The director general of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) and director of the RMCH will have to submit the report to the HC by May 25.
The HC bench of Justice Quazi Reza-Ul-Haque and Justice ABM Altaf Hossain came up with the order and a suo moto rule after The Daily Star on Thursday ran a report on the incident.
According to the report, some unidentified interns of the hospital refused to treat injured Gulbar Ali Jewel, photojournalist of local daily Natun Probhat on Tuesday.
Jewel, who also works for online news portal bdnews24.com and national daily Jaijaidin, quoted an intern telling his wife, “No journalists will be treated at this hospital. You may go to Dhaka or somewhere else.” He broke his right leg on February 2 in an attack by some Rajshahi University students.
Interns are apparently angry with journalists following an incident at the hospital on April 20. On that day, some interns injured 10 newsmen when they were in the hospital to cover the incident of an unpleasant exchange of words between interns and a patient's attendant.
Since then the journalists have been holding different programmes protesting the attack.
Yesterday, the HC issued the suo moto rule upon the authorities concerned of the government and the RMCH to explain within two weeks under what authority the interns have done it and why they should not be directed to take action against the interns.
In the rule, the court asked them to show cause as to why they should not be ordered to refrain from giving practising licence to the interns, who refused to treat journalists.
The HC expressed utter dismay over the interns' refusal to entertain and treat the journalist.
Home and health secretaries, DG of the DGHS, director of RMCH, vice chancellor of Rajshahi University, president of Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council and deputy commissioner and superintendent of police of Rajshahi have been made respondents to the rule, Deputy Attorney General Biswojit Roy told this correspondent.