Bangladesh

PM Tarique Rahman orders suspension of doctor found smoking at Shishu Hospital

The prime minister found Associate Professor Rafiqul Islam smoking in an unhygienic room during a surprise visit to Bangladesh Shishu Hospital and Institute in Agargaon.

ScrollBeat DeskPublished: 18 Oct 2026, 11:31

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman speaking at a Family Card distribution event in Chandpur on 16 May 2026 (file photo). Photo: Press Information Department, Government of Bangladesh, via Wikimedia Commons. Press Information Department (PID), Government of Bangladesh, via Wikimedia Commons

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman ordered action against a doctor at Bangladesh Shishu Hospital and Institute in Agargaon on Saturday after finding him smoking in his room during a surprise visit.

The doctor, Associate Professor Rafiqul Islam, was suspended after the prime minister's directive, deputy press secretary Hasan Shiplu said.

Tarique expressed strong displeasure at the condition of the room, which he found unhygienic while the doctor was smoking inside it. He instructed the hospital's management board chairman, Professor Dr AKM Azizul Haque, to take action.

The visit, around midday, was part of a series of unannounced inspections of hospitals and educational institutions in the capital to assess the dengue situation and cleanliness.

During the visit, the prime minister stressed the need to keep hospitals clean and to make doctors and other staff more responsible in carrying out their duties.

Earlier, Tarique went to Kuwait-Bangladesh Friendship Government Hospital in Uttara and to Rajuk Uttara Model College, where he urged students and members of the National Cadet Corps to join cleanliness drives to help prevent dengue.

At the government officers' and employees' residential quarters in Azimpur, he expressed dissatisfaction with the surroundings and gave the authorities two weeks to improve sanitation.

On 12 September, Tarique launched a three-month campaign against dengue, combining cleanliness drives with public awareness work, and said the coming months were a high-risk period.

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