National

Those responsible for ASP Anisul’s death to be punished: Minister

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Wednesday said those responsible for the death of Barishal Metropolitan Police’s (BMP’s) Senior ASP Anisul Karim Shipon will be brought to justice.

“Everything related to the incident will be investigated and justice will be ensured after bringing all the accused under the ambit of law,” he said while talking to reporters at his office.

“ASP Shipon had been suffering from mental illness and we came to know about it. So, we’ve to investigate the incident for this and everything will be clear after the investigation,” said the minister.

“We’ve seen in a video footage that there had been a scuffle between the hospital staff and the ASP and at one stage he died. Doctors at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases declared him dead when he had been taken there,” he said.

So far, 11people, including three top-level officials of the hospital, were arrested in this connection, the minister added.

Law enforcement agencies have been working to identify unauthorised hospitals, said Asaduzzaman adding, “Instructions have been given to inform the Health Ministry whenever irregularities are detected in any hospital.”

“They [law enforcement agencies] will conduct drives along with the Health Ministry officials. I believe there's no complication in it,” the minister added.

“I think these drives will be operated with transparency according to the directives,” he asserted adding that the drives will be conducted whenever the Health Ministry will provide any information on irregularities.

On the other hand, Asaduzzaman said, the Home Ministry will inform the Health Ministry if the Detective Branch finds any information in this regard.

It is not clear yet how they (Mind Aid Hospital) were running the hospital though they did not have government approval, he said. “Everything will be clear after investigation.”

Talking about addiction rehabilitation hospitals, the minister said there are some hospitals authorised by the Narcotics Control Department which are allowed to rehabilitate and provide treatment to drug addict patients.

There are directives to shut those hospitals if irregularities are detected or those are operated without doctors, machineries and facilities, Asaduzzaman said.

Senior ASP Anisul was taken to Mind Aid Hospital for treatment on Monday.

After admission, the hospital staff informed his relatives that Anisul had fainted.

Later, Anisul’s relatives took him to the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases where doctors declared him dead.

A CCTV footage of the room showed that the hospital staff physically assaulted Anisul.

A case was filed in this connection on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, a court placed 10 people, arrested in connection with the incident, on a seven-day remand.

Besides, Niaz Morshed, director of Mind Aid Hospital, now undergoing treatment at a hospital in the city, is currently under police surveillance following Anisul Karim’s death.-UNB