Three Ansar security personnel were injured on Sunday evening after a notorious hospital broker launched a violent knife attack inside the grounds of the Debidwar Upazila Health Complex in Comilla. The assault broke out at around 7:30 pm right outside the emergency department, forcing duty guards and brave onlookers to subdue the assailant before handing him over to responding police officers.
Police identified the suspect in custody as 35-year-old Aktar Hossain, son of Ruhul Amin and a resident of the Oman Kashem Bari neighbourhood within Debidwar municipality.
The three injured Ansar guards—Md Hannan Mia, Delowar Hossain, and Shahabuddin—were stationed at the government hospital to maintain order and safeguard patients. Describing the terrifying incident, Delowar Hossain explained that Aktar, a long-standing illegal broker known to local authorities, entered the medical facility without permission. When security stopped him to inquire about his presence, Aktar flew into an uncontrollable rage, drew a sharpened surgical scissor blade from his pocket, and attacked them. As fellow guards rushed in to protect their colleague, the suspect lashed out indiscriminately, inflicting injuries before extra security staff and bystanders finally managed to disarm and pin him to the ground.
Dr Kabir Hossain, Resident Medical Officer (RMO) at the health complex, described Aktar as a dangerous repeat offender whose presence poses a constant menace to daily operations. The doctor disclosed that the suspect routinely carries sharp blades, using them to intimidate healthcare workers, harass patients, and mug vulnerable relatives attending the facility.
State-run upazila health complexes across Bangladesh frequently face severe disruptions from unauthorized brokers. These illicit operatives infiltrate hospital corridors to misguide patients, forcibly redirecting them to private diagnostic centres for kickbacks, overcharging for basic assistance, and carrying out muggings. Health authorities had deployed a dedicated 11-member Ansar security team to fortify the Debidwar complex specifically to eliminate these illegal practices. Dr Hossain noted that despite Aktar undergoing multiple arrests and serving custodial sentences handed down by mobile courts, he repeatedly returned to the hospital to resume his illegal operations upon release.
Following Sunday’s violent clash, Executive Magistrate and Assistant Commissioner (Land) Faysal Uddin visited the scene to evaluate the security breach. Recognizing the severity of the weapon attack and the bodily harm caused to on-duty personnel, the magistrate advised the hospital administration to initiate formal criminal proceedings against the culprit rather than seeking a summary conviction through mobile court trials.
Confirming the arrest, Debidwar Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md Moniruzzaman stated that police officers dispatched to the complex immediately took charge of the suspect. He added that the hospital management is serving as the primary complainant to register formal criminal charges, after which law enforcement will produce the accused before the magistrate’s court on Monday morning.
