Two Chhatra League leaders confined while going for internship at RMC

Shubho Kumar Mondal, president of the college unit of the banned Chhatra League, and Nahid Hasan, general secretary, were confined after going to Rajshahi Medical College (RMC) Hospital to start internship as the period of suspension ended after two years.

Leaders and activists of Chhatra Dal and Islami Chhatra Shibir detained and beat them on Tuesday morning (November 10). At that time jostling took place between police and the agitated students. Later the agitated students threw eggs targeting them when police rescued them and took them into custody.

Shubho and Nahid were kept confined at RMC Hospital from 10am. On receiving the information members of Rajpara Police Station of Rajshahi Metropolitan Police (RMP), Detective Branch (DB), specialised unit of police Crisis Response Team (CRT) and RAB went to the hospital.

A large number of members of law enforcement agencies took position at the hospital. Later the two were brought out from the hospital director’s room around 12:30pm. At that time leaders and activists including RMC Chhatra Dal President Amri Meem and Chhatra Shibir President Ramiz Muttakin chanted various slogans against the banned Chhatra League.

A microbus was kept ready at the hospital gate to take Shubho and Nahid away. Leaders and activists of Chhatra Dal and Chhatra Shibir threw eggs targeting them while boarding them in the vehicle. At one stage they were beaten. Although it was possible to put Shubho in the microbus, Nahid fell down. Then the leaders and activists punched, slapped and kicked him. Later CRT members rescued Nahid and put him in another vehicle.

Shubho is a student of the 59th and Nahid of the 60th MBBS batch of RMC. After completing the fifth year they had also started internship at the hospital. However, the hospital authorities suspended their internship for two years on November 6, 2024 on charges of attack in the anti-discrimination student movement and taking a position against the movement. As the period of suspension recently ended they took the initiative to start internship again. They came to the hospital on Tuesday after applying for this.

Several students who were positioned in front of the hospital director’s office from the morning said Shubho and Nahid had been coming to the office of hospital Deputy Director Hasanul Hasib for a few days. On Tuesday Hasanul Hasib arranged for them to meet hospital Director Brigadier General PKM Masud-ul-Islam.

For this they were sitting in the waiting room beside the director’s office. Meanwhile leaders and activists of Chhatra Dal and Chhatra Shibir went there and started beating them. Later the two were taken to the director’s room and the door was closed. Police went there on receiving the information.

RMC Chhatra Shibir President Ramiz Muttakin said, “Autocrat Hasina is breathing down the neck. In this situation investigation is needed into how the two leaders of the banned Chhatra League entered the hospital. Action must also be taken against those who brought them to the hospital.”

Spokesperson of RMC Hospital Dr Sheikh Shamim Ahmed said, “After the period of internship suspension is over application has to be made again according to the rules. They can do internship if the academic council gives approval. Shubho and Nahid had applied accordingly. After applying they had come to talk to the director about the matter. The director sent them to the disciplinary committee. The current disciplinary committee has said they have to come through the previous disciplinary committee that had suspended their internship. After that they have been handed over to the police in the face of the demands of the agitated students.”

RMP spokesperson and Detective Branch Deputy Police Commissioner (DC) Gaziyur Rahman said, “They have been shown arrested in the case of the anti-discrimination student movement.”