July 2024 was particularly terrible because the state, normally in charge of providing innocent civilians with security, opened fire against protestors, killing hundreds. However, a slow killer of the nation always happens to be the healthcare system of Bangladesh, which is forever stuck in a cycle of patient negligence.
Jabed, 26, happens to be the victim of both.
His brother, Moinuddin, recounted the tragedy with sorrow, “We tried everywhere, even at private hospitals, but none of them admitted him.” “If he had been provided with proper treatment, he could have survived,” he added.
Moinuddin and his family blames the carelessness of doctors for the death of Jabed.
Jabed, the youngest in the family, was a fruit vendor who worked on a van at the Mohammadpur intersection to support his family.
When the AL regime fell on August 5, he went outside just as he used to during the protests. But he couldn’t be found come evening. His mother, frantic with anxiety, called Moinuddin home—he was in Bandarban for work— and searched nearby areas but found not hide nor hair about Jabed’s whereabouts.
Moinuddin tried to console his mother, “I told her not to worry. He might have just gone out somewhere and would return soon. But he didn’t come home the next day either.”
Becoming increasingly concerned, Moinuddin left Bandarban that very night and reached Dhaka by 9am on August 7.
“We looked everywhere, but there was no trace of him. We even searched the mortuary of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH),” he said.
As hours passed, their fear grew. “My mother kept losing consciousness. We were completely devastated,” he recounted.
“Finally, around 12:45 am, I received a phone call from the Dhaka Dental College and Hospital,” Moinuddin said in a trembling voice. “They informed me that my brother had been shot and was undergoing treatment there.”
They found him there, unconscious, but they were not allowed near Jabed as the police obstructed their way. They were forced to go home. The next morning, Moinuddin found out his brother undergone surgery on his face, with his head wrapped in bandages.
The bullet had entered just below his left ear, shattered his jaw, and lodged beneath the skin near his chin, he told referring to doctors.
Jabed could not speak anymore.
“He narrated to us-pointing to his injuries-that after he was shot, the police hit him on the head with the butt of a rifle. Later, we learnt that the blow had also caused damage to his brain,” Moinuddin said.
“Blood was coming out of his ear. There was no way to stop the bleeding,” said Moinuddin.
Following the doctor’s advice, the family took him to Agargaon Neuroscience Hospital, from where they came to know about the injury in the brain. The doctors there in turn, informed them to go to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, as his condition was continuously deteriorating.
He said, “When we reached DMCH, we could not admit him to the hospital. After three hours, we were able to admit him.”
“Doctors at the hospital would come once a day and see him from a distance. He was a bullet-ridden patient, and he had a brain injury. But they did not take any special care,” he said tearfully.
Jabed passed away on the early hours of August 13, around a week after being shot.
Moinuddin claims that if Jabed had been kept at Neuroscience Hospital that day, he would not have died. There were few patients there; at least proper treatment would have been ensured. But they sent him to DMCH, where he was admitted to the neuroscience department.
“So what was the difficulty in keeping him there (neuroscience hospital)?” asked Moinuddin.
Jabed was laid to rest around 9pm on the same day in the Mohammadpur Martyred Intellectual Graveyard.
His mother, Nurjahan Begum, 50, said, “I want justice for the murder of my child.”
“Jabed was a very good boy. He used to do business with us at this intersection for a long time,” remembered Masud Ali, a vegetable vendor. Masud said, “Jabed respected me like an elder brother. But how could this happen? We want his killer to be brought to justice.”
Moinuddin mentioned that a murder case has been filed with Shahbagh Police Station against scores of people, including ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal.
Mother and son now await justice against the brutal killing of their youngest family member.