Several thousand protesters, said to be students from different colleges, have vandalised Dhaka National Medical College and Hospital at Bakshibazar in Old Dhaka after the death of a student in ‘wrong treatment’. Police and witnesses said outsiders, including students of Dr Mahbubur Rahman Molla College and some other colleges, gathered with sticks in front of the hospital around 1pm following the death of a student of Mahbubur Rahman College while undergoing treatment there and ransacked it, leaving at least 20 people injured. As some students of Government Suhrawardy College tried to prevent the unruly students, they vandalised an office room of Suhrawardy College, a private car on the college premises and Kobi Nazrul Islam College. The protests triggered traffic chaos in the adjacent areas of Bakshibazar, causing suffering to commuters. Additional police forces were deployed to maintain law and order and army personnel were seen attempting to calm the protesters inside the gate. Several journalists were harassed by students, reportedly led by the students of Dr. Mahbubur Rahman Mollah College, while they were covering news about the attacks and vandalism at educational institutions in Old Dhaka. Battery-run vehicle workers postpone protests after police assurances According to police and witnesses, Zakir Hossain, a multimedia reporter for Daily Ittefaq, was subjected to harassment. His phone was damaged and his microphone was broken. Similarly, Asadul Islam, a correspondent for Daily Amader Barta, and Jannatun Nayem, a correspondent for Bangladesher Khobor, had their mobile phones seized. The footage from their phones was deleted before the devices were returned. Aman Nabi, a multimedia reporter for Daily Kalbela, was also among the journalists who faced harassment. Several other reporters covering the incident were reportedly intimidated and faced similar treatment.

Authorities at Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital (RMCH) on Thursday formed a five-member panel to probe the death of a Rajshahi University (RU) student in the wake of allegations of lapse on part of doctors. On Wednesday night, Shahriar, the fourth-year student of the university's marketing department, died after allegedly falling off the roof of Shaheed Habibur Rahman Hall. Brig General Shamim Yeazdani, director of RMCH, said the probe body, headed by Prof Noushad Ali, will investigate the death of Shahriar and "whether there was any lapse or dereliction of duty on part of doctors". The other members of the committee are the university proctor, the student advisor and two additional police commissioners of Rajshahi. The probe body has been asked to submit its report within three working days. After Shahriar fell off the roof of Shaheed Habibur Rahman Hall of the university on Wednesday night, some students took him to RMCH where he was declared dead on arrival. Also read: Attack on interns: Osmani Medical College students suspend strike A student, named Jahangir, who was at the scene, however, told UNB that Shahriar was taken to the hospital around 8.30pm. "But he was not given treatment till 9.30pm. There was no doctor at the emergency department. Only an intern was there." Meanwhile, Shahriar's classmates vandalised the hospital as the doctors did not come on time. That led to a scuffle between the students and the medical interns. Later, the interns embarked on an indefinite strike, protesting the attack on them by some students of RU. On the other hand, the RU students thronged the area and demanded punishment against the attackers. Both sides dispersed subsequently.