Two journalists were injured while filming a clash between intern doctors and patients’ relatives at Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital on Wednesday night.
The incident occurred inside the hospital around 9pm.
Both journalists sustained head injuries. They are Nibendu Talukdar, a reporter for Sylhet View, and Reza Rubel, a photojournalist for Shyamol Sylhet.
In protest against the incident, journalists staged a sit-in at Chowhatta Point in the city later that night.
Meanwhile, intern doctors suspended medical services at the hospital for nearly two hours following the clash, causing suffering for patients who had come to seek treatment.
According to reports, tension arose between the relatives of a patient from Silam in South Surma and intern doctors over the patient’s surgery. The situation eventually escalated into a clash. Those affected alleged that the intern doctors beat patients’ relatives with sticks.
When journalists Nibendu and Reza attempted to record the incident, the intern doctors allegedly attacked them. They reportedly beat the two journalists with IV stands, causing injuries to their heads. Several relatives of patients were also injured.
Following the clash, the intern doctors closed the gate to the hospital’s emergency department and remained there carrying sticks. Allegations emerged that medical services in the hospital, including the emergency department, remained suspended for nearly two hours.
Patients and their relatives faced considerable hardship as a result, with some leaving the hospital without receiving treatment. Tension continued intermittently until around midnight.
Khan Muhammad Moinul Zakir, officer-in-charge of the Kotwali Model Police Station, said the two journalists were attacked during the clash. Additional police personnel were deployed to bring the situation under control, he said.
Attempts were made to contact Brig Gen Abu Zafar Md Khaled Hossain, director of Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital, by phone for comment, but he did not answer.
Meanwhile, journalists working for various media outlets staged a sit-in at Chowhatta point late Wednesday night to protest the attack. Leaders of several journalists’ organisations also joined the programme.
They demanded that those involved in the attack be identified and brought to justice in accordance with the law. They also called for an examination of the hospital’s CCTV footage and measures to ensure journalists’ safety.
The protesters further announced that leaders of journalists’ organisations in Sylhet would hold a meeting within the next 24 hours to decide on their next course of action.
Anis Rahman, general secretary of the Electronic Media Journalists Association (EMJA), said journalists gather news to highlight public suffering and irregularities. There was no justification for attacking them while they were carrying out their professional duties, he said.
He added that the allegations of assaults on patients’ relatives also required a proper investigation.
Nasir Uddin Ahmed, general secretary of the Sylhet District Press Club, said attempts to contact the hospital director, deputy director and other relevant officials following the incident had gone unanswered. He said the protests would continue until an environment was ensured in which journalists could safely perform their professional duties.
Speaking as the chair of the protest programme, Shah Didar Alam Chowdhury, former general secretary of the Sylhet District Press Club, said incidents involving attacks on journalists and mistreatment of patients’ relatives had occurred at Osmani Medical College Hospital before. Such incidents must come to an end, he said.
He warned that public anger would grow unless a fair investigation was conducted and those responsible were held accountable.
