Sanjoy Pal Joy, a student, has been arrested in Gaibandha in connection with the assault on doctors and vandalism at Dhaka Medical College Hospital. He was apprehended on Monday morning from the central bus terminal area of Gaibandha town. According to the police, Sanjoy is a final-year student at the private Stamford University in Dhaka.
Masud Rana, the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Gaibandha Sadar Police Station, stated that Sanjoy’s residence is in the Sarkarpara area of Gaibandha district town, and his father’s name is Ranjit Pal.
OC Masud Rana further mentioned that Amir Hossain, an office assistant at Dhaka Medical College, filed a case at Shahbagh Police Station regarding the assault and vandalism incident, in which Sanjoy Pal has been named as an accused. Sanjoy Pal is currently in police custody, and following legal procedures, he will be sent to jail via court.
Following the attack on doctors at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, doctors in government hospitals began a “complete shutdown” or strike starting Sunday morning, demanding the arrest and prosecution of the attackers, as well as ensuring a safe workplace. The strike was part of a four-point demand. However, after assurances that their demands would be met, the doctors suspended the strike and returned to work around 7:45 PM on Sunday, after approximately 12 hours.
According to doctors and eyewitnesses, on Saturday, doctors were assaulted over allegations of negligence in treating a private university student who had been critically injured in a road accident and subsequently died. The deceased student, Ahsanul Islam, 25, was an engineering student at the Bangladesh University of Business and Technology (BUBT). Following this incident, tension had been building at Dhaka Medical College Hospital since Saturday afternoon.
Hospital sources indicate that Ahsanul Islam was severely injured in a road accident on Friday night while returning to Mirpur after dropping a friend off at the airport on his motorcycle. Locals initially took him to Kurmitola General Hospital, and later on Saturday, he was transferred to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries in the morning.
A few hours later, on the same night, armed assailants entered Dhaka Medical College Hospital, attacking a patient and assaulting doctors, escalating the already tense situation.