The director of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) was physically assaulted inside his office room at Mohakhali in the capital on Wednesday.
According to Banani police station, the incident occurred between 11:15am and 11:30am on Wednesday.
Police reported that 10 to 15 unidentified individuals led by Dr Zahid and Dr Baset forcefully entered the office room of Dr Kazi Ahmed Zaki, director of IEDCR.
The attackers grabbed the director by his shirt collar and physically assaulted him. When other officers and employees of the institute came forward to intervene, Dr Zahid Hasan, Dr Baset, and their accomplices fled the scene.
Inquiries with the director and eyewitnesses at the scene revealed that Dr Zahid was previously employed under the US government-funded Bangladesh Public Health Protection project. Following the expiry of the project, his employment also came to an end.
However, Dr Zahid had been illegally exerting pressure to extend the duration of this project.
As a consequence of this dispute, he brought Dr Baset and 10 to 15 unidentified people to commit the assault. Police confirmed that legal action is currently under process and the law and order situation remains normal.
Professor Kazi Ahmed Zaki, director of the organisation, said that workers of the Doctors Association of Bangladesh (DAB), an organisation of pro-BNP doctors, created a mob and carried out the attack.
Video footage of the assault shows Professor Kazi Ahmed holding a meeting with several persons in his room when eight to nine people entered, pulled him from his chair, and began beating him.
Professor Harun Al Rashid, president of DAB, confirmed the truth of the incident and said Professor Kazi Ahmed also had some fault.
When asked what his fault was, he displayed a photograph on a mobile phone and asked how Professor Kazi Ahmed could hold a meeting in his own office with Meerjady Sabrina Flora during the tenure of the present government.
Public health expert Flora was director of the Directorate General of Health Services, the Directorate General of Drug Administration, and IEDCR during the tenure of the Awami League government, which was ousted in the July mass uprising, and later served as additional director general of the Directorate General of Health Services.
Following the assumption of power by the BNP government, Kazi Ahmed, a public health expert who recently conducted research on the effectiveness of the measles vaccine, was appointed to the top post of director at IEDCR.
The responsibilities of IEDCR include monitoring the disease situation in the country, conducting research, and issuing alerts.
The institute works jointly with international organisations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the United States.
DAB issues show cause notice
Following Wednesday’s incident, DAB issued a show cause notice to Dr Zahid Hasan, assistant legal affairs secretary of the committee. It was signed by Dr Md Zahirul Islam Shakil, secretary general of the central executive committee of DAB.
The letter said that based on allegations of his involvement in the unpleasant incident in the room of the director of IEDCR on Wednesday morning, his primary membership was suspended.
Dr Zahid was directed to submit an appropriate reply to the president and secretary general of DAB within 48 hours explaining why organisational action should not be taken against him.
