Gopalganj's 250-Bed General Hospital Superintendent has dismissed the allegation that the hospital deliberately handed over the bodies without performing autopsies.
The hospital authority said the allegations were completely baseless and false, reads a press release issued on Sunday.
"The actual events are as follows: after the incident on the mentioned date, the first body arrived at the emergency department. Upon declaring the patient deceased, the on-duty doctor informed the relatives that the body would be handed over after completing the autopsy process. At that point, the relatives became agitated and forcibly took the body away," reads the press release signed by Gopalganj General Hospital Superintendent Jibitesh Biswas.
The statement comes after several violent clashes broke out between law enforcement agencies, Awami League members and Chhatra League activists on Wednesday, centring NCP's rally in Gopalganj, which claimed five lives.
Later, the families of the other deceased individuals also refused to allow autopsies and behaved in an unruly manner with hospital staff, forcibly taking the bodies, the press release said.
It noted that due to the prevailing unrest and ongoing clashes around the hospital, and in the absence of law enforcement personnel, the hospital authorities felt helpless.
"Furthermore, since all medical staff, including doctors, nurses, ward boys, and other personnel, were fully engaged in treating the injured, and given the unstable external situation, despite the best efforts, it was not possible to contact the police immediately. However, the matter was later reported to the police both over the phone and in writing."
Following the incident in Gopalganj, some news outlets, social media users, and relatives of the deceased claimed that the autopsies of the victims were not conducted and that the hospital deliberately handed over the bodies without performing post-mortems.
The allegation kicked off a firestorm of criticism.
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