Those injured in mass uprising split during talks with govt advisors

A group representing those injured in the mass uprising in July and August have split among themselves after coming to the Secretariat to express their frustrations and complaints regarding their treatment.

The injured undergoing treatment at the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation and the National Institute of Ophthalmology came to the Ministry of Health at the Secretariat at 2pm on Thursday for a pre-planned meeting. When the injured from other hospitals attempted to join the meeting, they were blocked by those who had protested at NITOR on Wednesday night.

By 4pm, one group had become angry and left the room. Anti-discrimination Student Movement coordinators Hasnat Abdullah and Sarjis Alam tried repeatedly to calm the situation, but were not able to.

At one point, Hasnat said that they see the politics of division among the injured with suspicion. He instructed them to discuss and set their demands.

“Let’s see if we meet your demands. Everyone with injuries is equal to us. There is no room for discrimination,” he said.

One of the injured, who had left the room during the discussion and was standing on the balcony, said: “I can see people here who were not part of yesterday’s protests. They are trying to select five representatives from among themselves and go into negotiations.”