4 sued over death of a physician

Four people were sued yesterday for abuse and negligence leading to the death of a physician in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi on June 4 and for later destroying evidence.

The deceased, Nafisa Tabassum Dhipra, was a former student of Bangladesh Medical College. At the time of her death, she was preparing for the FCPS examination.

The accused are Dhipra’s husband Dr Rahmat Rashid Siyam; her father-in-law Prof Dr Mohammad Abdur Rashid; her mother-in-law Dr Siddika Sultana; and Siyam’s brother-in-law Simu Naser, editor of the satirical website Earki.

Mosiour Rahman Shah Shanto, 46, a lawyer at Dhaka court, filed the case under different sections of the Penal Code, with the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Jewel Rana.

Several other unidentified persons were also named as accused, said Forhad Hossain Nion, a lawyer for the complainant.

After recording the complainant’s statement, the magistrate directed the CID to investigate the case and submit a report before the court by July 16, he added.

According to the case documents, Dhipra married her classmate Siyam after they had been in a relationship, and the couple have a two-year-old child.

The complaint alleges that Dhipra was subjected to physical and mental abuse by the accused after marriage and that the prolonged abuse led to severe depression. After giving birth, she also suffered from postpartum depression, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

The case further states that despite being doctors, Siyam and Abdur Rashid, allegedly acting in collusion with Siddika, failed to ensure Dhipra received proper medical treatment and refused to cover the cost of her care, thereby contributing to her death. It adds that the three sought to undermine Dhipra’s mental well-being by obstructing her preparation for the FCPS examination.

Shortly before her death, Dhipra reportedly raised the issue in a post in the Facebook group “Female Doctors in Bangladesh”, where she wrote about the abuse she was facing within her family.

The case further alleges that Siyam and his parents deliberately put Dhipra’s life at risk. Despite knowing about her physical condition, they allegedly locked her in a room at their Dhanmondi residence for three consecutive days from June 2, denying her food and preventing her from seeing her child.

On June 4, after learning of the situation, Dhipra’s mother went to the house and found her daughter locked in a room. She asked Siyam to open the door.

Upon seeing her mother, Dhipra hugged her and said, “Mother, I want to eat rice,” before collapsing, according to a Prothom Alo report.

The case also alleges that when Dhipra’s mother urged Siyam and his mother to take her to a hospital, they consulted Siyam’s father, Abdur Rashid, over the phone and delayed seeking medical care. Despite several hospitals being nearby, they took her to BIRDEM Hospital, where Rashid allegedly had influence.

Dhipra died before reaching the hospital, the complainant alleged, adding that Siyam and his parents then conspired with BIRDEM authorities to conceal evidence and obscure the circumstances surrounding her death.

The complaint described the death as a premeditated killing and further alleged that the accused knowingly obtained a false death certificate and arranged Dhipra’s burial without a post-mortem examination to suppress evidence of her alleged unnatural death and prevent its use in future legal proceedings.

The Daily Star could not reach Abdur Rashid for comments over phone despite repeated attempts.