The interns of the hospital held a press conference at the Dinajpur Press Club yesterday protesting the attack on their colleague. They made a two-point demand including punishment of the culprits who attacked the doctor.

At the press conference the doctors said a few relatives of a patient named Khurshida, 20, daughter of Ahad Ali of Balubari village in Dinajpur, engaged in a scuffle with intern Dipankar Chakrabarti on June 26 at the time of her admission.

A few unidentified persons again attacked Dipankar the next night and beat him indiscriminately, the doctors said.

Dr Irfan Ahmed told The Daily Star that Dipankar received severe injuries to the head.

Dipankar, who is undergoing treatment at the hospital, declined to talk to reporters about the incident.

Meanwhile, the strike has caused immense sufferings to the patients in the hospital and many already started leaving the hospital since no doctor was attending them.

Kidney patient Arifun left the hospital yesterday for Rangpur Medical College and Hospital for treatment.

Rokeya Haque, a relative of Shahina Akhter who was admitted to the hospital on June 26, alleged that due to the doctors' strike the disease of her patient could not be diagnosed yet.

Surgeons of the hospital also refrained from their duties.

A huge number of patients were coming to the hospital from different districts and upazilas for treatment but had to go back or move to hospitals in Rangpur and Bogra.

The hospital sources said no new patient was admitted as of last night.