Fourth grade employees of Jessore General Hospital have protested against an alleged police beating of one of their staff members.
Just after the alleged incident, the hospital was shut from 10am to 11am on Wednesday as the protest took place.
Later Jessore Police Additional Superintendent (ASP) Golam Rabbani arrived at the scene and directed the accused police member be taken into custody, diffusing the situation.
Hospital guard Poritosh Kumar told Dhaka Tribune: "I was on duty in front of the ticket counter—where hundreds were standing in queue—when Police Constable Bulbul arrived with his wife. He placed his bicycle beside the counter, and when asked to remove it, got angry, starting an argument.
"Sarwar, a member of the hospital staff, came to resolve the matter, which made Bulbul even angrier. At one point he took Poritosh’s baton and started beating Sarwar."
Regarding the allegation, Bulbul said: “They misbehaved with me because I kept my bicycle beside the ticket counter. In the skirmish, my shoulder badge was torn off, which made me really angry.
"I then beat them with the baton once,” he added.
Supervising doctor of Jessore General Hospital Abul Kalam Azad Litu said: “The hospital is always in a rush, which is why there are so many guards. Previously the place was visited by a mobile court. It was an unexpected incident and the situation was well-handled.”
ASP Rabbani added: “Bulbul was initially taken to Sadar court and was transferred to a police lineup where he will face district level charges.”