Ad-din suspends two staff over alleged attack on journalists

Ad-din Medical College Hospital authorities have suspended two staff members following allegations of an attack on journalists at the hospital in Dhaka’s Moghbazar area.

The information was disclosed in a statement issued today (6 June) by Tariqul Islam Mukul, director of Human Resources and Company Affairs at Ad-din Foundation.

According to the statement, Health Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain, accompanied by senior officials, visited the hospital on 30 May after the deaths of six newborns on 27 May, which authorities described as “accidental”.

The statement said that after the minister’s departure, a large group of journalists attempted to enter the hospital premises. Hospital staff tried to restrict entry, citing the need to maintain a secure environment for patients undergoing treatment.

According to Tariqul Islam, tensions escalated during an exchange between journalists and hospital staff after a journalist allegedly referred to sanitation workers as “janitors”, which staff members considered insulting.

The statement said some employees then became agitated and requested the journalists to leave the hospital premises.

Hospital senior officials present at the scene attempted to calm the staff members, it added.

Ad-din authorities said they had expressed regret over the incident on the same day through a press release and later conducted an internal investigation.

Following the investigation, two staff members were found responsible and temporarily suspended, the statement said.

The identities of the suspended employees were withheld to protect their social dignity, said the hospital authorities.

Earlier, three journalists were injured, and a television camera was allegedly damaged after media workers were attacked by security and cleaning staff at Ad-din Medical College Hospital in Dhaka’s Moghbazar area on 30 May, according to media reports.

The incident occurred sometime after Health Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain visited the hospital, where six newborns aged between one and three days died on 27 June.

Following his inspection, the minister said a bakery had been found on the seventh floor of the hospital’s college building and that authorities would investigate whether gas emissions from the facility could have contributed to the deaths of the infants.

After learning of the minister’s remarks, journalists went to the hospital to gather information.

However, shortly after the minister left, hospital authorities reportedly closed all entry points to the facility.

When reporters attempted to enter, they were stopped by security personnel, leading to a verbal altercation.

Contacted by phone, the hospital’s director general, Professor Dr Nahid Yasmin, told media that the bakery had been sealed off by the health minister and that no one could be allowed inside.