31 January 2013, Dhaka. BRAC family is deeply shocked and mourns at the sudden demise of a young professional Dr. Sajia Afrin Eva (27), who was brutally killed on Friday November 30, 2012 while performing night shift duty at Dokhinkhan BRAC Clinic in Dhaka. Dr. Sajia started working with BRAC Clinic as a temporary shift duty doctor from November 01, 2012. She had graduated from Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College in 2008 and was undergoing postgraduate training at Shaheed Sarawardi Medical College Hospital. Although she was only with us for a short period of time, her efforts and dedication were much appreciated.
On 29 November 2012 Dr. Sajia came to Dokhinkhan BRAC Clinic at around 8.00 pm to carry out night shift duty. She provided medical care to admitted patients and then went to doctor’s duty room at around 10.00 pm. On the next morning (30 November, 2012) at around 6.45 am, duty nurse found Dr. Sajia lying down on the floor in doctor’s duty room. The clinic management immediately informed the tragic incident to the police, higher authority of BRAC and to Dr. Sajia’s family.
As soon BRAC Management heard of this great tragedy, the organization decided to provide all support to her family including logistical, financial, legal and emotional support to help deal with this immense loss. Upon learning of the murder BRAC Clinic Management and BRAC Security Department provided extended support and worked with the police department to quickly identify and capture the culprit. BRAC Management also asked all BRAC staff present at the clinic during the incident to provide all kinds of support in the investigation of the murder case by extending all co-operation to the Investigation Officers. On that very day (30 November, 2012), with support from BRAC Administration and Security Department, Dr. Sajia’s father Mr. Manirul Islam filed a case at Dokhinkhan Police Station against four persons including guard/ward boy Faisal (27) as the key suspect. The key suspect Faisal was arrested the next day December 01, 2012 from his village home and within short time he confessed the killing to the police, media, and then to the court.
Dr. Sajia was buried at her home village on December 01, 2012. The ritual was attended by BRAC’s local district representative and managers along with twelve other regular staff. BRAC arranged transportation for carrying the dead body and covered the burial expenses. Within days (on December 5, 2012) BRAC organized a Doa and Milad Mohfil at BRAC Head Office which was attended by BRAC senior management, including Chairperson Sir Fazle Hasan Abed and representatives of the Bangladesh Medical Association, and family members to honor Dr. Sajia’s memory and the eternal peace of her departed soul.
BRAC takes this tragedy very seriously and will continue to do everything possible to ensure security and safety of all BRAC staff in workplace, in particular females. In order to bring the real criminals under the law ensuring justice to the deceased, BRAC is working together with Dr. Sajia’s family with keeping regular communication with professional bodies like Bangladesh Medical Association. Since mostly female patients are admitted in BRAC clinics and most of the clinic staffs are female, it is a regular practice that male visitors are not allowed to stay or enter inside the clinic after 10.00 pm. After 10.00 pm only clinic staff are allowed to stay inside in their respective duty stations. However, following the tragic incident, further security measures have been introduced for all BRAC Clinics.
Apart from this, BRAC Gender Justice and Diversity Programme (GJDP) organized multiple rallies, seminars, human chains in protesting recent women harassment incidents and violence across the country. The GJDP recently organized a seminar entitled “Violence against Women Rape-Gang Rape: things to do and strategies of prevention” on January 22, 2013 at BRAC Center which was participated by different NGOs, Civil Society Groups, and government representatives.
Although there is no way to make up for the loss to Dr. Sajia’s family, out of consideration for the fact that Dr. Sajia had just begun her livelihood as a doctor, BRAC wanted to provide a humanitarian grant of assistance. BRAC has offered Dr Saji’s family a humanitarian grant of Ten Lac taka and an offer of employment at the BRAC Head Office at a monthly salary of 20,000 taka for her younger sister, Ms. Nadia Afrin, who has just completed her BBA.
