Police members mostly sustain head injuries

When Md Mohiuddin, assistant sub-inspector (ASI) at the capital’s Uttara West police station, heard chases and counter chases started between protesters and police at the Uttara House Building area, he rushed to the spot by a motorcycle. Chased by a group of people, ASI Mohiuddin went to the Kuwait Bangladesh Friendship Government Hospital. As he arrived near the hospital, they started beating him.

Mohiuddin then fled to the kitchen of a nearby school and locked the door, but the protesters broke the door and he was beaten again. At one stage, he became senseless. Protesters then called an ambulance and sent him to the hospital. When the ambulance arrived in front of the hospital, having learned his identity, protesters attacked him once again, and he then ran toward the hospital and took shelter there.

This was how Mohiuddin described the 18-July-attack on him while speaking to Prothom Alo lying on a bed at the Central Police Hospital in Rajarbagh, Dhaka.

He said, “I was even attacked inside the Kuwait Bangladesh Friendship Government Hospital. Protesters threatened to set the hospital on fire if I was given treatment.”

The attackers made his wife stand next to the dead bodies of the protesters at the hospital, he added.

Mohiuddin sustained head injuries. His right hand and two legs broke. He said, “I was at the hospital without any medical care for about five hours.”

Having been injured in clashes, 259 members of the police were admitted to and received treatment at the Central Police Hospital between 16 and 20 July, with 58 still undergoing treatment and one in the intensive care unit (ICU) in critical condition.

This correspondent spoke to six injured police members at the Central Police Hospital on Thursday. They were injured while performing duty during clashes in Jatrabari, Rampura and Uttara or on their way home after duty. Most of them sustained injuries on the head. They said their helmets were removed from their heads and they were stuck by iron rods, pipes and sharp weapons.

Constable Aminul Islam of the capital’s Khilgaon police station was on duty in front of the BTV Bhaban in Rampura. He fell on the Rampura bridge during the chases and counter-chases on 18 July. He was stuck with iron rods and pipes, and he needed 60 stitches on his head.

Sub-inspector (SI) Abdullah Al Qaium is posted in the police’s Special Branch in Dhaka. He was on his way home to Jatrabari’s Kazla area on 19 July after the night shift. A group of people identified him and attacked him seeing his uniform. Qaium sustained severe injuries on the head. He said he was hit with bamboo and sticks on his head and he needed 45 stitches.

Constable Md Motaleb was on his way to his residence in Jatrabi’s Kazla area after his duty on VIP protocol. Noticing a pistol on his holster, a group of people attacked him. He said he was stuck with a Chinese axe on the left side of his head, and as he lost consciousness, he could not remember anything after that.

Traffic Sergeant Syed Masudur Rahman was going to his workplace in Wari, but he was attacked midway. His tight hand and right leg broke. He needed eight stitches on his head. Seeing the bandages, his two young daughters were afraid of going near him.

Regarding the treatment of injured police, Central Police Hospital director and deputy inspector general Sheikh Md Rezaul Hyder told Prothom Alo police members were attacked with a ‘target’ to kill. Treatment was provided in a couple of minutes once the injured police members arrived in the hospital, If treatment was delayed, many would not survive, he added.

This report appeared in the print and online editions of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten in English by Hasanul Banna