Patient Dies in Late-Night Fight at Pabna Mental Hospital Families Allege Gross Negligence

A psychiatric patient was killed and another severely injured following a late-night altercation in a high-risk ward at Pabna Mental Hospital. The incident has raised serious questions about patient safety, chronic understaffing, and systemic negligence at the specialized state facility.

The altercation occurred around 3:00 a.m. on June 2 in Ward No. 6. According to hospital sources, a fight broke out between Inzamul Haque (26) of Jhenaidah and Nazmul (28) of Sirajganj, both of whom were receiving treatment for schizophrenia. Inzamul sustained fatal head injuries, while Nazmul was seriously injured.

Hospital authorities allegedly attempted to cover up the tragedy, which only came to light to the broader public on Sunday afternoon. Hospital Director Dr. Shafqat Wahid confirmed the death, prompting the victims' families to demand accountability for the lack of supervision.

Families Demand Accountability

Ijazul Haque, the deceased’s brother, has filed a murder case against Nazmul at Pabna Sadar Police Station. However, he places the ultimate blame on the hospital authorities.

"Why were two high-risk patients kept together without supervision?" Ijazul asked. "When I questioned the ward staff, they admitted they were too afraid to intervene and stop the fight."

Nazmul’s family also alleged severe mistreatment. His wife, Bilkis Khatun, stated they had explicitly warned the hospital of his aggressive tendencies upon admission. "If they could not manage him, they should have informed us so we could make other arrangements. Instead, my husband is now a murder suspect," she said.

Nazmul's father, Abdul Malek, accused hospital staff of extreme physical abuse, alleging they broke his son's arms and legs in retaliation. Malek claimed the hospital initially called him to take his son home, prepared discharge and referral papers for Dhaka, but then suddenly confiscated the documents, dragged Nazmul out of their vehicle, and forcibly detained him back inside the facility.

Hospital Cites Severe Manpower Shortages

Hospital staff have denied the allegations of abuse and medical negligence, instead blaming an acute shortage of manpower.

Nursing Superintendent Rekha Akhter noted that psychiatric patients can suddenly become violently aggressive, making it impossible for one or two nurses to safely intervene. She highlighted a severe lack of male ward attendants, as well as an absence of specialized safety training or risk allowances for staff handling highly volatile patients.

Director Dr. Shafqat Wahid admitted to systemic flaws, specifically the lack of separate isolation facilities for high-risk patients. "The death is unexpected and tragic. However, managing such highly volatile situations with our limited manpower is incredibly difficult," he said.

Calls for State Intervention

Public health expert Dr. Ramdulal Bhowmik criticized the government's prolonged inaction regarding the declining standards at the country's premier mental health facility.

"Frequent patient deaths point to extreme state negligence. The government and the health department must take a much more responsible role and implement effective safety measures to protect these vulnerable citizens," Dr. Bhowmik stated.

Pabna Additional Superintendent of Police Rezinur Rahman confirmed that an investigation into the murder is actively underway. He noted that the final investigation report will take into account the patients' mental health conditions as well as the hospital's security failures.