Intern doctors at Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital in the city launched an indefinite work-abstention protest yesterday against the abduction of a colleague two days ago. The agitators also blocked Mirpur Road in front of the hospital, demanding the immediate rescue of their fellow internee. The blockade was later lifted, but the work abstention by the interns affected health services at the hospital. While several patients left the hospital, others waited helplessly for treatment with no one to attend to them.
According to police, Dr Shamim Topu, 26, was kidnapped from near the main gate of the hospital around 2.30 pm on Friday. Dr Hasmaien Hossain, who witnessed the abduction, told police that three to four men had forcibly picked up Dr Topu into a waiting microbus.
“Dr Topu was going to the house of his brother, Dr Shiblu, at Dhanmondi when he was abducted. I tried to follow the microbus, but lost track as it sped towards Asadgate area,” Dr Hossain mentioned in his complaint to Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police station.
Deputy commissioner of police (Tejgaon zone) Biplab Kumar Sarkar told The Independent: “We are investigating the incident. We are very hopeful of rescuing him soon.” On the probable reasons behind the abduction, the DCP said, “We are looking into several angles, including previous disputes, a love affair, and even detention by some other law enforcement agency.”
According to the kidnap victim’s fellow interns, Dr Topu was residing at Room No. 413 of the college hostel. His two roommates, Dr Mukul and Dr Monir, said Dr Topu was their senior, but had not been very forthcoming with them. “He used to talk over the phone for hours every night. But he did not frankly share anything with us,” Dr Mukul said when asked whether Dr Topu had had any affair.
But the victim’s close friend, Dr Amzad Hossain, said, “Topu had an affair with a girl named Esha from Mymensingh district. But they broke up around one-and-a-half years ago. The girl has since married and has a child now.”
According to Dr Topu’s friends, an unidentified man had sent Tk. 200 through a flexi-load to his mobile no. 015200817 before the incident. The sender later called again and said he had sent the flexi-load mistakenly, and urged Dr Topu to return the money. The caller had described himself as a flexi-load businessman inside the hospital.
“But when Topu called back the number to say that he, too, was a student at the college, the unidentified caller did not receive the call,” Dr Amzad said. “We also went to the flexi-load trader on the campus, whom we know very well. But he denied having sent any flexi-load to Topu’s mobile,” he added.
The mystery of the flexi-load has baffled the victim’s friends and family members. The victim’s brother, Dr Shiblu, said, “We are worried after the incident. We have approached several law enforcement offices, but there is no trace of my brother yet.” Meanwhile, Dr Amzad said the internees would discuss their next course of action at a meeting. He, however, said they would continue with their work abstention till Topu was rescued. About the suffering of the patients, he said, “We know it’s very tough to provide treatment to the patients right now. But there are several others also who are on duty for them. We have no other alternative.”