Piarul Hossain, a police constable who sustained burn injuries during Hefazat-e-Islam’s May 5 mayhem in the capital, continues to suffer from his wounds at the Rajarbag Police Line Central Hospital.
Piarul recalled the incidents of the day: “It was around 6:30pm on May 5, at the capital’s Paltan area. I ran to the first floor of the Motijheel traffic office in fear of the Hefazat activists; but after some time, I realized that the whole office was burning. I tried to escape through the ground floor, but by that time my uniform was caught on fire.”
He said all other officials were able to leave the office safely, as dark smoke soon engulfed the whole area.
“Soon, my skin and flesh were burning. I managed to jump on the vacant street in front of the office and started to roll over to put out the fire,” he added.
The injuries Piarul sustained on May 5 are yet to heal, with the pain not letting the constable sleep without medication.
Still receiving treatment at the Rajarbag Police Line Central Hospital, Piarul continued recounting his ordeal to the Dhaka Tribune: “Some of my colleagues noticed me on the street and sent me to Dhaka Medical College Hospital’s Burn and Plastic Surgery Department. After a week at the hospital, higher authorities sent me to Singapore General Hospital on May 13 for better treatment.”
Piarul returned to Bangladesh on June 29, but would need to go back to Singapore again for more treatment. “The doctors told me that it would take around two years for me to fully recover from the injuries.”
Mohammad Waishkuruni, coordinator of Rajarbagh Police Line Central Hospital’s emergency ward, told the Dhaka Tribune that Piarul and 78 more police officials were admitted to the hospital on May 5 following Hefazat’s attacks. Among them, the condition of 15 to 16 officials were very critical, while 20 more injured officials from Narayangonj also received treatment at the hospital on the following day.
