Denied treatment on suspicion of Covid-19, DU student dies

A postgraduate student of the Institute of Education and Research at Dhaka University (DU) died on Monday at his village home in Khagrachhari after some top Dhaka hospitals refused to treat him on suspicion of Covid-19.

Suman Chakma was a 22nd batch student of the Institute hailing from Datkuta area of Khagrachhari Sadar.

Greater Chittagong Hill Tracts Students’ Council (GCHTSC), well known as PCP, confirmed the matter via a press statement on Monday. 

According to the press statement, Suman had long been suffering from lung complications and had received treatment abroad earlier.

“He returned to Bangladesh a year ago after being treated in India, thus, resuming his studies at the university. But on March 11, he fell ill again,” it says.

His friends rushed him to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, and later to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Gonoshasthaya Nagar Hospital, and the National Institute of Diseases of the Chest and Hospital (NIDCH).

The four hospitals denied him treatment on the suspicion that he was infected with Covid-19, GCHTSC said.

The hospitals did not even perform any medical examination as he was having breathing issues due to his previous lung complications, the council claimed.

Suman, also a member of PCP, was finally taken back to his village home from Dhaka on March 18, where he finally died.

Deprived of treatment, Suman expressed his frustration on social media late last month. 

On March 26, in a heartrending Facebook post, he wrote: “I have not contacted Covid-19, but it appears that I’ll have to die due to coronavirus.”

When contacted, DU Proctor AKM Golam Rabbani, confirming the obituary, said: “We [at DU] heard that the masters’ level student had been suffering from cancer, which is not verified.

“He was also said to have an infection in his lung for which he received treatment from India,” Rabbani said, expressing his condolence to the victim’s family on behalf of the university authority.