January 8, 2026
CHATTOGRAM – A seven-year-old boy died following a circumcision procedure at Safe Ideal Health Care Hospital in Chattogram’s Bahaddarhat area on Saturday, sparking allegations of medical negligence.
Mohammad Mostafa, son of Abu Musa, was admitted to the hospital for the procedure. His father said the boy was in high spirits despite the long wait.
“My son was smiling on the hospital bed. At one point, he told me, ‘abbu, I’m very hungry.’ But we didn’t feed him following the doctor’s advice,” Musa told The Daily Star.
A photograph taken shortly before Mostafa entered the operating theatre at approximately 3:30 pm that day has become the family’s final memory of the child.
The family claims they were kept uninformed about his condition for hours. At around 6:00 pm, hospital authorities suddenly said Mostafa needed to be shifted to Chattogram Medical College Hospital (CMCH).
“When I touched my son in the ambulance, his body was cold as ice. His legs were twisted, and there was no movement,” said Musa.
Mostafa was admitted to CMCH’s ICU and pronounced dead at 10:10 pm. The death certificate cited cardiac arrest as the cause.
The father alleged his son died due to “misuse of anaesthesia” during the procedure conducted under the supervision of Dr Mohammad Junaid Chowdhury, an assistant professor of paediatric surgery at CMCH. Musa said he would file a written complaint with the civil surgeon of Chattogram alleging negligence in treatment.
Dr. Harun-ur-Rashid, head of CMCH’s ICU and Anaesthesia Department, confirmed the child was received in critical condition following cardiac arrest.
Attempts to reach Dr Junaid and Safe Ideal Health Care Hospital authorities were unsuccessful. Saidul Karim, an assistant manager at the hospital, declined to comment.
The Chattogram civil surgeon has taken note of the incident. Speaking to The Daily Star, Civil Surgeon Dr Jahangir Alam confirmed that a formal investigation is underway.
“A three-member probe committee, headed by the Deputy Civil Surgeon Dr Towhidul Alam and including a paediatric surgeon, will be formed to investigate the incident,” he said.