At Ad-din, a father lost the twins he was waiting to name
The twin newborn boys of Mohammad Hasan Sardar were set to be discharged from Dhaka's Ad-din Medical College Hospital on May 27, 2026 -- four days after coming into this world.
Everything they would have needed had been bought. They just had not been named yet.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Both died before they could see their home.
The twins were among the six newborns who died after falling ill in the hospital's post-operative room early on May 27.
Hasan, a fish trader living in Dhaka's Nandipara, said his wife had told him that the atmosphere inside the room became unusually hot and stuffy after 2:00am.
"There was a warm, suffocating feeling in the room. The environment did not seem normal. There was also a strange smell, which some thought could be from medical gases," he told The Daily Star today.
According to him, the babies began crying, vomiting, and struggling shortly afterwards.
"After vomiting, the babies started twitching and writhing. All of them were in a similar condition," he said.
Hasan alleged that no doctor or nurses were present in the room when the condition of the babies began deteriorating.
"My wife and others looked for them [doctors and nurses], but could not find anyone. Only an aaya [caregiver] was there," he claimed.
By the time his twins were taken to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), their conditions had become critical, he said.
"They had turned blue from repeated vomiting. If timely steps had been taken, perhaps my sons would’ve been still alive," Hasan said.
Hasan's sister, Rabeya Begum, who was inside the post-operative room at the time, made similar allegations. When a nurse finally came after being called, she took another baby to the NICU, Rabeya said.
"I, along with an aaya, took our babies towards the NICU around 4:30am, but they could only be admitted around 6:00am. Both of them died after 9:00am," she told this correspondent over the phone today.
Seeking accountability, Hasan said, "I want a proper investigation and justice. Nothing can bring back my sons, but those responsible should be identified and punished."
Members of the government’s probe committee visited Hasan's home today and recorded his and his wife's statements as part of their investigation, he said.
Contacted, Tariqul Islam Mukul, director of HR and Company Affairs at Ad-din Foundation, which runs the hospital, refuted the allegations.
"It is true that there was no doctor stationed in that particular post-operative room, but a doctor was available in nearby units. No hospital assigns a dedicated doctor to a post-operative room," he said, adding that a nurse was present there.
Asked about the alleged delay in responding to the babies' deteriorating conditions, he said hospital staffers transferred the newborns to the NICU as soon as complaints were made.
He claimed that the hospital has a protocol for running the post-operative room. "However, something might have gone wrong. We have many things to learn and correct from this incident," he told The Daily Star today.
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