Doctor attacked two days after $15,000 extortion ultimatum
Police are investigating whether the extortion demand, the deadline, the attack and the subsequent threats are connected.
A senior surgeon at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) was attacked in Shantinagar two days after an alleged $15,000 extortion deadline expired, with the demand reportedly made via WhatsApp in the name of Chattogram-based criminal David Emon.
Professor Dr Md Asadur Rahman, head of DMCH's Ear, Nose, Throat and Head-Neck Surgery Department, said he received the message on 6 August, demanding the money by 15 August. He initially dismissed it as a possible fake threat.
"I ignored it. I thought it might be some fake group. But after the deadline of the 15th passed, they attacked me on the 17th," he told The Business Standard.
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At around 10:30pm on Monday, Asadur was returning home after seeing patients when several men stopped his car outside Popular Diagnostic Centre in Shantinagar and demanded that he open the door.
When he refused, one of them accused him of giving wrong treatment to a patient's sister and again demanded that he open the door. "I asked whose sister and where the patient was. They gave no answer, just kept pressing to open the door," he said.
The attackers assaulted him after the door was opened, severely injuring his eye. He remains under treatment at DMCH for clotted blood and a corneal wound.
The threats allegedly continued after the assault. About an hour later, the same WhatsApp number sent him a message asking, "Now how do you feel?" Another message arrived the following morning, warning him not to push the matter any further.
Police are investigating whether the extortion demand, deadline, attack and subsequent threats are connected. Asadur filed a complaint at Paltan Police Station, and police arrested a young man identified as Jibon in connection with the attack, said Md Harun Or Rashid, deputy commissioner of the Motijheel division.
Niaz Mehedi, additional deputy commissioner of the DMP's media and public relations division, said the investigation remained at an early stage. Police said David Emon's direct involvement in the extortion demand or attack had not been established.
PM's physician visits injured surgeon
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman's Assistant Personal Physician Dr ANM Monowarul Kadir Bitu visited Rahman at DMCH today (19 August) and spoke with hospital Director Brigadier General Md Asaduzzaman and doctors on duty about his treatment.
Monowarul called the attack on doctors unacceptable, saying such incidents disrupt the healthcare environment and create insecurity among physicians. He also met Asadur's family and expressed sympathy.
The family demanded immediate enactment of the Health Worker Safety Protection Act. The Doctors' Association of Bangladesh also condemned the attack and demanded swift action against those responsible.
