Student-people uprising: More than 18,000 injured

More than 18,000 people, injured in clashes and violence across the country centering the quota reform movement, anti-discriminatory student movement and the movement to topple the government in July and August, underwent medical treatment in hospital.

This was revealed in the draft report of the concerned committee formed by the government. The report was submitted to the ministry of health on Thursday.

The report placed the number of casualties at 622. This figure was collected from the hospitals. However, many of the people who died during the movement were not brought to hospital at all. So, the actual number of death is way higher.

Sources from the ministry of health stated that this is a preliminary or draft report. Right now the work of data cleaning is going on. This report will be released on the website. Some more names might be added then. The number of casualties will change as well.

The management information system (MIS) under the directorate general of health services is preparing this list of people injured and killed in the movement. The number of people who were injured or killed between last 15 July and 5 August are on the list.

An official from MIS on condition of anonymity told Prothom Alo that MIS has compiled the information officially provided by government authorities and private hospitals in all divisions. The work of data collection and verification is still going on.

According to government records, the number of people injured in the movement so far stands at 18,247. Among the eight divisions, naturally there has been the highest number of casualties and injuries in Dhaka. As many as 11,073 people have been injured in Dhaka division. The least number of injuries were recorded in Barishal division. A total of 236 people have been injured in this division.

After Dhaka, there has been the second highest number of injuries in Chattogram division with 1,738 people. Next in line is Khulna with 1,546 injured people. In Rangpur and Rajshahi there have been respectively 1,205 and 1,154 injured people. Meanwhile, there have been respectively 718 and 577 people injured in Sylhet and Mymensingh.

The information MIS has found out shows that 10,939 of the injured people received treatment in the outdoor department. And, the remaining 6,865 people received treatment being admitted into hospitals.

MIS collected data from government and private hospitals. It showed that majority of the injured people received treatment in government hospitals. Out of the 18,247 injured people, 15,689 received treatment in government hospitals while the other 2,558 underwent treatment in private hospitals.

However, no one received treatment in any private hospital or clinic in any district of Barishal, Khulna, Mymensingh and Rangpur divisions. Even if any of the injured people received treatment in private hospitals or clinics in these four divisions, nobody informed that to the government yet.

MIS has found information of 622 people being killed during the movement across the country. All of their records are there in the hospitals. However, head of the committee former senior secretary at the ministry of health Mohammad Humayun Kabir told Prothom Alo, “We have continued with our efforts to find determine the exact number of deaths from other sources apart from the hospital sources.”

Analysis of the incidents of deaths showed that 443 people were brought dead to hospitals after the violent incidents. Meanwhile, the remaining 179 people died while undergoing treatment in hospitals.

The list of deaths shows that there have been incidents of death in every division of the country during the time of the movement. The highest number of casualties has been recorded in Dhaka division. As many as 477 people have died in this division. Meanwhile, there have been the least number of deaths in Barishal division with one casualty.

In Chattogram and Khulna divisions there have been respectively 43 and 39 deaths. Meanwhile, 22, 19 and 17 people died respectively in Sylhet, Rajshahi and Mymensingh divisions. The first incident of death in this movement occurred in Rangpur. As many as four people died from violence in this department.

Prothom Alo has been trying to collect information of deaths right from the beginning of the movement. Prothom Alo has found information on the deaths of 760 people between 16 July and 3 September from different sources including sources from public and private hospitals.

Among the patients admitted to hospitals with injuries from the clashes and violence, 3,048 people had sustained serious injuries. These people required surgeries. Even after surgeries and receiving all sorts of treatments, at least 525 people have been left physically disabled to some extent.

The police used various types of weapons during the movement. Towards the beginning of the movement, the police had indiscriminately shot rounds of pellets to scatter the public. A lot of the people lost their eyesight from the pellets.

Records from MIS show that the number of people sustaining serious injury to their eyes is 647. Maximum, 603 of them are in Dhaka division. After Dhaka, the second highest 22 are in Chattogram division. Meanwhile, the number of people sustaining serious injury to their eyes in the remaining six divisions is 22. Some of them might lose the vision in both of their eyes, some in one eye for good.

People involved with the preparation of the list told Prothom Alo that in most cases the hospitals don’t have the complete address of the patients. And, when a huge number of patients get admitted into the hospital at the same time it becomes impossible for the hospital staff to write down all the information of the patients.

Sometimes, the cell phone numbers provided by the patients turn out to be wrong numbers. It’s tough to identify or single out injured people from the incomplete address and the incorrect cell phone number.

This draft report will be uploaded on the website. If anyone’s left out, they will have to show such evidence to the hospital that proves they have received treatment. Then if their names are sent to MIS from the hospitals, they will be included in the list.

The interim government on 15 August formed a 13-member committee with former senior secretary of the health ministry Mohammad Humayun Kabir in the lead to create a policy for the treatment of injured persons and for providing assistance to the families of the martyrs in the recent uprising as well as to prepare a complete list including the identities of the martyred and the injured people.

Apart from the representative of the health ministry, there are representatives from eight different ministries as well as representative of the student against discrimination on the committee.

Mohammad Humayun Kabir told Prothom Alo, “This is the initial list. This list has to be corrected. After this list has been corrected, the government will decide who will receive assistance and in what way.”