Docto's Directive Not Complied
Oxygen Unmasked, Child Taken Around Dhaka Medical — Then He Dies
Dhaka Medical College and Hospital. Photo Courtesy: Wikipedia.
Doctors had warned that the oxygen mask must not be removed even for two minutes from the seven-month-old baby. Yet the child was taken around the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) without the mask for at least half an hour. Later, citing the unavailability of a bed, the baby was put into an ambulance to be taken to a private hospital. By then, the only child of his parents—Hasib Ahmed Minhaj—had passed away.
The person responsible for keeping Minhaj without oxygen was an employee of DMCH. Although the parents initially accused him, they ultimately did not file a written complaint. As a result, police say they cannot take action against the accused, Enayet Karim (40).
To understand the incident, we need to have retrospection into events. Minhaj was the son of Helal Mia and Meghla Khatun from Parbatipur village in Pirganj upazila of Rangpur. Because of their jobs, Helal and Meghla live in the Basan area of Gazipur—one works at a gold shop, the other at a garment factory. Since both parents worked, Minhaj stayed in Rangpur with his maternal grandmother.
Speaking to Helal Mia, he said that a few days earlier Minhaj had developed diarrhea and was admitted to Rangpur Medical College Hospital. After various tests, doctors found kidney complications. He was then brought to Dhaka for advanced treatment. Initially, Minhaj was taken to a hospital in Shonir Akhra, where doctors put him on oxygen after observing his condition and repeatedly warned that the mask must not be removed even for two minutes. He was then referred to the Shishu (Children’s) Hospital in Agargaon, but no bed was available there.
Later, through a broker, Minhaj was taken to a private hospital in Dhanmondi. However, upon hearing about his kidney problem, that hospital also refused to admit him and referred the family to the National Institute of Kidney Diseases and Urology in Shyamoli, where he again failed to get a bed.
After visiting multiple facilities, on Tuesday (12 May) Minhaj was finally taken to the emergency department of Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Helal Mia said, “The medical officer in the emergency department sent us to a pediatric doctor nearby. But instead of admitting him directly to the children’s ward, the doctors asked us to go and check whether any bed was available.”
It was then that they met hospital employee Enayet. Enayet himself took them around the children’s ward and later informed the doctors that no bed was available. He then suggested a hospital called Home Care in the Katabon area, saying Minhaj could be admitted there at a cost of Tk 25,000 per day. Thinking of their child’s life, the parents agreed.
Helal Mia alleged that Enayet was clearly informed of the doctors’ warning that the oxygen mask must not be removed even for two minutes. Despite this, Enayet removed the mask on the pretext of putting Minhaj into an ambulance and took the baby around inside DMCH for about half an hour without oxygen. He then put Minhaj into an ambulance through the gate of the hospital’s second building.
As the family was lifting Minhaj into the ambulance, they realized that he was no longer alive. When the mother began to cry, Enayet tried to flee. Family members immediately caught him and handed him over to the hospital police outpost.
News of a person being detained at the police outpost over the child’s death at Dhaka Medical College Hospital was sent to Shahbagh Police Station. After receiving the information, Sub-Inspector (SI) Manmath Halder of Shahbagh Police Station, along with others, went there.
Speaking to Agamir Somoy, Manmath Halder said, “We found a government employee named Enayet detained at Dhaka Medical College Hospital. We learned that a child patient died while he was being persuaded to go to a private hospital. Immediately after the incident, the deceased child’s family made serious allegations in front of the hospital police camp. However, a short while later, when asked to file a written complaint, they refused.”
Instead, the child’s family submitted a written statement saying, “We have no complaint regarding the child’s death.” As a result, the police released the detained employee Enayet.
Minhaj’s maternal uncle, Md. Ripon, told Agamir Somoy, “We came to Dhaka from the village and followed whatever instructions we were given. Even then, if my nephew had survived, we could have found some peace. Our seven-month-old Minhaj was, in effect, killed. We demand the strictest punishment.”
He added, “We appeal to the government so that no more mothers lose their children like this.”
When asked why no written complaint was filed, Ripon declined to comment.
However, Agamir Somoy spoke with journalists and several hospital employees who were present at the scene at the time. They said that after the child’s death, the family was intimidated in various ways. Since Enayet was a government hospital employee, many people came forward in his support. Some of them threatened the child’s parents with an autopsy, saying that if they filed a police complaint, the body would be cut open, the remains would not be released promptly, and they would be dragged into prolonged police and legal procedures.
Hearing this, Minhaj’s parents became frightened. That is when they gave a written statement saying they had no complaint. Soon afterward, they quickly left the hospital premises with their child’s body.
