Police and physician bodies have blamed each other for an ugly incident that occurred at the Elephant Road crossing where a doctor got involved in a spat with a police officer and an executive magistrate on Sunday.
The Bangladesh Police Services Association condemned the behavior of the physician, whereas the Swadhinata Chikitshak Parishad (SWACHIP), an organisation of medical professionals, reacted against the alleged harassment of physician Syeeda Showkat Jenny.
The BPSA urged the authorities concerned to take action against the doctor for violation of her own department’s order and behaving badly with on-duty officials.
The association revealed its demands in a press release on Monday.
In the press release, the organisation said it had noticed a video on some media outlets that went viral showing a physician behaving rudely with an on-duty police officer and executive magistrate at the Elephant Road area on April 18.
She was also non-cooperative with the officials, which was not desirable from a professional and responsible citizen, the BPSA said.
Citing the health department’s notice issued on April 14, the BPSA said the physician in question disobeyed the instructions of the notice by not showing her identity card to the law enforcement officials.
In another statement, the SWACHIP on Monday urged the health directorate to launch an investigation into the incident on Sunday.
The group alleged that law enforcement agencies had been harassing doctors and other frontline health officials during the ongoing lockdown, not only in the capital, but also in other parts of the country.
The organisation said despite the clear instructions of the government and after showing the sticker of the hospital on her car’s windscreen, the physician of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University was subjected to harassment.
