{"id":5117,"date":"2025-12-08T01:18:18","date_gmt":"2025-12-07T19:18:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=5117"},"modified":"2025-12-08T01:18:19","modified_gmt":"2025-12-07T19:18:19","slug":"abuse-of-power-why-dr-dhanadeb-barman-faces-a-suspension","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/?p=5117","title":{"rendered":"Abuse of Power: Why Dr. Dhanadeb Barman faces a suspension"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The crumbling state of Bangladesh\u2019s public healthcare system reached a new low on December 6, when the Director General of Health Services (DGHS), Professor Md Abu Jafor, publicly berated, threatened, and effectively orchestrated the immediate suspension <\/a>of Dr. Dhanadeb Barman, a respected Assistant Professor of Surgery at Mymensingh Medical College Hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The incident\u2014captured on multiple mobile phones and TV cameras now viral across the country\u2014has ignited nationwide outrage and laid bare the toxic culture of intimidation that has gripped the health sector since the political upheaval of August 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Really Happened Inside the Casualty OT<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At approximately 10:30am, DG Prof Abu Jafor made an unscheduled stop at the hospital en route to a seminar. Entering the casualty complex\u2019s minor operation theatre, he fixated on an ordinary table and chair placed beside the OT table\u2014a makeshift workstation used by doctors because the department has no separate duty room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Dr. Barman calmly explained the acute space shortage and the table\u2019s practical purpose, the DG exploded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Witnesses and video footage confirm the following exchange:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DG (shouting): \u201cDo you even realise who you are talking to? Mind your words!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He then ordered his entourage: \u201cRecord everything. Take videos and photos.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Barman (remaining composed): \u201cI treat patients with utmost respect, but I do not feel obliged to show the same courtesy to those who merely hold positions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DG: \u201cIf this is how you speak to me, how do you treat patients?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Barman: \u201cI behave very well with patients. Everyone here knows that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At one point, the DG sneered: \u201cYou still haven\u2019t learned how to behave.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Barman retorted: \u201cI completed the three-day behavioural training in Dhaka. You were supposed to attend for two days, but never showed up even once.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a moment of utter despair, Dr Barman declared: \u201cSuspend me. I have no problem. I don\u2019t want to continue in this service.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Corruption, suspension of operation plans cripple Bangladesh health sector<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sheikh Hasina vows to bring Yunus, BNP, Jamaat, militants to justice<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sheikh Hasina condemns corruption as Grameen Telecom gets digital wallet license<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite junior colleagues pleading with Dr. Barman to apologise\u2014and him eventually doing so\u2014the DG rejected it outright, declaring in front of the hospital director, Brig. Gen. Md. Golam Ferdous: \u201cHe doesn\u2019t need to apologise. He is completely unfit for this hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By evening, hospital authorities had \u201ctemporarily relieved\u201d Dr. Barman of all duties and issued a 24-hour show-cause notice\u2014a mere formality before the inevitable full suspension that was confirmed the following day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Blatant and Vindictive Abuse of Power<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prof Abu Jafor\u2019s behaviour was not the reaction of a concerned administrator discovering genuine malpractice; it was a premeditated public execution of a senior doctor\u2019s dignity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key facts make the DG\u2019s actions indefensible:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– He deliberately ordered the entire confrontation to be filmed, turning a routine inspection into a staged spectacle of humiliation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– He ignored the hospital director\u2019s testimony that Dr. Barman \u201calways speaks to us in a low voice\u201d and has an impeccable professional reputation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– He overruled an apology on the spot and branded a doctor with decades of exemplary service as \u201ctotally \u201dunfit\u201d\u2014effectively dictating the punishment before any inquiry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– This fits a disturbing pattern since August 2024: senior officials using viral videos, instant suspensions, and character assassination to silence or punish doctors perceived as \u201cdisloyal\u201d or unwilling to toe the new political line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The audacity is breathtaking: a DG who cannot ensure basic equipment, anaesthesia machines, or even sitting space for doctors in one of the country\u2019s busiest emergency departments instead chooses to scream about furniture and destroy a colleague\u2019s career in front of juniors and patients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Dhanadeb Barman: The Man They Tried to Break<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Far from the \u201crude\u201d or \u201cunfit\u201d caricature being circulated by DGHS-aligned circles, Dr Barman\u2019s record speaks for itself:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– MS (General Surgery) 2013, yet never allowed to operate even once in the hospital due to politically motivated postings and resource denial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yunus\u2019 Floor Space Scandal: Ex-NSI officer exposes Nobel laureate\u2019s corruption<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Corruption: Why Khaleda\u2019s family has proof, Sheikh Hasina\u2019s does not<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Sunday Guardian: Yunus turned public benevolence into private dominion<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Only one promotion in 12 years; months away from retirement at essentially entry-level rank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Universally praised by patients and colleagues for courteous, dedicated service\u2014often rushing to the hospital at 3-4 am for emergencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Repeatedly highlighted systemic failures (corruption in transfers, absent equipment, and bribe-driven training postings) only to be ignored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his post-incident statement, he laid bare the despair of an entire generation of doctors: \u201cThe whole healthcare system is running on the back of a bizarre camel\u2026 I no longer have the mental strength for it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bigger Picture: A Health Sector Being Deliberately Dismantled<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This ugly episode cannot be viewed in isolation. Since the Yunus-led interim government took power:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– All 38 five-year Operational Plans have been cancelled, leaving the sector without direction for 18 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Over 25,000 health workers remain unpaid; essential drugs and contraceptives have vanished from the grassroots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Corruption scandals involving hundreds of crores in bribes for postings implicate the health adviser\u2019s own private secretaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– A landmark reform report by National Professor A.K. Azad Khan gathers dust while genuine change is blocked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Against this backdrop, the DG\u2019s obsession with a writing table while real patients suffer without medicine or staff exposes the administration\u2019s perverse priorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Across social media and medical circles, Dr. Barman has become a symbol of resistance against bureaucratic tyranny. Thousands of doctors, students, and citizens have praised his bravery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I demand immediate revocation of the suspension and reinstatement with full honours, a public apology from DG Prof Abu Jafor, an independent inquiry into the pattern of vindictive suspensions since August 2024, and urgent implementation of the Azad Khan Commission reforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until those in power stop weaponising authority to crush dedicated doctors and start fixing the broken system they inherited and worsened, incidents like Mymensingh will keep repeating\u2014each one driving more talented physicians out of public service and pushing Bangladesh\u2019s once-admired healthcare system closer to total collapse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Dhanadeb Barman may have been silenced temporarily, but his courage has given voice to tens of thousands who can no longer endure the arrogance, corruption, and abuse that now define Bangladesh\u2019s health leadership.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The crumbling state of Bangladesh\u2019s public healthcare system reached a new low on December 6, when the Director General of Health Services (DGHS), Professor Md Abu Jafor, publicly berated, threatened,… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5118,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,646,266,1207,83],"tags":[451,1300,1302,50,56,1301,64],"class_list":["post-5117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","category-culture","category-education","category-emergency","category-opinion","tag-abuse-of-power","tag-director-general-of-health-services-dghs","tag-health-sector","tag-interim-government","tag-muhammad-yunus","tag-mymensingh-medical-college-hospital-mmch","tag-yunus-gang"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5117"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5117\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5119,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5117\/revisions\/5119"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}