Six victims of Molotov cocktail attacks have been undergoing treatment at the ICU of burn institute at Dhaka Medical College Hospital in critical condition.
Of them, truck driver Jahangir received 46% burns, mechanic Niranjan 42%, autorickshaw driver Abdur Rashid 39%, service holder Bilal Hossain 25%, furniture trader Saju 20%, and car driver Nazmul 14%.
Forty-two more victims with different degrees of injuries are now taking treatment at different wards of the National Institute of Burns and Plastic Surgery.
Since January 6 when the BNP-led 20-party alliance enforced indefinite blockade, doctors at the institute have been treating as many as 87 burn victims.
Yesterday another victim of the petrol bomb attack died. Bakul Debnath, 35, succumbed to his injuries after battling for seven days, ICU chief Prof Dr Maruful Islam told the Dhaka Tribune.
“He had around 35% burn injuries on his body. He died around 7am,” he added. Following a post-mortem examination, Bakul’s body was handed over to his family in the afternoon.
With his death, the number of casualties from petrol bomb attacks in the DMCH now stands at six while 16 across the country.
Bakul was attacked on his way to Sylhet city from Jaintiapur area on a sand-laden truck on January 20. “When the truck reached Bagher Sarak area in Gowainghat upazila around 12:30pm, some pickets hurled Molotov cocktails at the truck,” Bakul’s brother Rantu Debnath told the Dhaka Tribune.
The victim was first taken to Osmani Medical College Hospital in Sylhet, but as his condition deteriorated, he was shifted to the DMCH burn institute three days later.
Bakul remained unconscious until his death. Hailing from Shosharkandi village in Sylhet, he was the only earning member of his family.
The sufferings of burn victims have extended to their families as well.
One-year-old girl Unaisa was seen crying for her father beside one of the beds. Only learning how to speak, she kept crying “Baba,” bringing tears to her mother Ratna’s eyes too.
“She has been asking for her father for the last two days. I cannot make her understand that the man lying on the bed [beside her] is her father. The petrol bomb attack burned my husband’s face. Failing to recognise him, my daughter continues searching for him,” Ratna told the Dhaka Tribune.
The man in question, Md Khokon, 25, has 20% burn injuries on his body, with his face the most affected. A shoe vendor in Gulistan area in the capital, Khokon was one of the victims in the bus that was attacked in Jatrabari on Friday night.
“My daughter, who used to jump at my lap when I returned home from work, who woke up in the morning hearing my voice, does not recognise me now,” Khokon cried while talking to the Dhaka Tribune.
“Only those who have children will understand how painful it is. Not being able to console my child is even worse than these burn injuries,” he said.
“Khokon used to make Tk400 on average every day, and we used to make do with that. Now, we do not know what to do, how we are supposed to survive, and how many days he have to remain in the hospital,” his wife Ratna said.
Bilal Hossain, 28, and his family are in a similar situation. Being a salesman at a fabric shop in Gulistan, Bilal is the only earning member in his family. He received 10% burn injuries.
“The shop owner used to pay my husband Tk400 every day, Tk100 of which was his conveyance. Now he is here in the hospital; we are meeting ends with donations from different people. But if he cannot get back to work soon, we will be on the streets,” Bilal’s wife Shainur told the Dhaka Tribune with their one-year-old son Sakibul Hasan on her lap.
At a press briefing around noon yesterday, Prof Sazzad Khandker of the burn institute said: “A total of 48 people are currently undergoing treatment here. We are trying our best to ensure the best treatment, but it is impossible to say anything specific before the treatment is finished.”
