Bangladesh: Ex-health department DG gets bail after surrender in ACC case

Abul Kalam Azad

Bangladesh desk: Former director general of the health department Abul Kalam Azad got bail after surrendering before the Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge’s Court in a case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission.

Judge KM Imrul Kayes of the court granted him bail on Thursday, said the court’s general recording officer Aminul Islam.

Abul Kalam Azad appeared in the court on Tuesday, five days after the ACC filed the charge sheet in the case.

He also surrendered through a lawyer and applied for bail. But the court refused his surrender petition mentioning that he was sick on that day.

Earlier, the deputy director of ACC Farid Ahmed Patowary filed charge sheet against Mohammad Aminul Hasan, and five others accused.

Other accused are Regent Hospital chairman Mohammad Shahed Karim, former director of health Aminul Hasan, deputy director Younus Ali, assistant director Md Shafiur Rahman, and research officer Didarul Islam.

In the charge sheet, the investigating officer of the case mentioned that the accused misused their power by colluding with each other, signed a memorandum of understanding to transform the Regent Hospital without license renewal into a dedicated Covid Hospital. He took Tk 36 lakh 7 thousand 500.

In the charge sheet, it had been alleged that the doctors, nurses, ward boys and other officials of the Mirpur and Uttara branches of the Regent Hospital had taken initiative to send the draft memorandum of understanding to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

They have been charged under Section 409/420/109 of the Penal Code and Section 5 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947.

Earlier ACC deputy director Farid Ahmed Patwary filed the case on September 23, 2020.