The former and current students of Jahangirnagar University (JU) have demanded exemplary punishment of the doctors and hospital authorities in connection with the death of a young man named Raahib Reza while undergoing endoscopy at Labaid Hospital in the capital.
They made this demand from a human chain organized at the university's Shaheed Minar at 2pm on Thursday.
The victim Raahib Reza was a student of 42nd batch (academic year 2012-13) of the Accounting and Information Systems Department of the university.
After completing his education, he worked as a product manager and IT consultant in an organization named Startic Engineering in the capital. He has a two-year-old daughter.
Hundreds of teachers and students from various departments of the university along with the relatives of the victims were present in the human chain.
Meanwhile, the students demanded the cancellation of license of the accused doctor Dr Mahtab Swapneel and Labaid through a fair investigation in accordance with the order of the High Court.
Tasmia Afroz, the wife of the victim, said at the human chain, “We have approached the High Court in this case. An inquiry committee has been formed following the order of the High Court. We demand to submit the report to the court within three months as per the instructions of the court through a fair investigation.”
She also demanded exemplary punishment in connection with her husband's death.
Professor Md Salah Uddin of the accounting department said that the cause of death needs to be found.
“We go to private hospitals for better treatment. Why should we accept this type of anarchy? If the accused people are not punished, this type of anarchy will continue.”
Raahib relatives claimed that anesthesia was applied to him without seeing the test report at LabAid Hospital. An endoscopy is performed amid his physical complications. Due to this, he suffered a cardiac arrest and eventually died due to complications.
Raahib Reza passed away from cardiac arrest during an endoscopy procedure at Lab Aid Hospital in Dhanmondi, Dhaka on February 19.
His family members allege that Raahib Reza was given anesthesia without a prior examination of his test reports at Labaid Hospital.
They claim that the endoscopy was conducted despite his existing physical complications, leading to a heart attack and his subsequent death.
However, the doctor involved in the procedure, Prof Mamun Al Mahtab, former chairman of the Hepatology Department and head of the Interventional Hepatology Department at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), claimed that he was unaware of the patient's pre-existing conditions.
According to relatives, Prof Mamun Al Mahtab had recommended that Raahib undergo an endoscopy on February 15.
Following the doctor’s advice, Raahib underwent the procedure at the hospital at around 11pm the next day.
The family claimed that about an hour and a half later, Raahib’s condition started deteriorating and he was taken to the hospital’s ICU.
After being treated there for three days, he was declared dead on the morning of February 19.