Chargesheet Formed against 6 including Former Health DG

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has approved chargesheets against six people, including former director general of the health directorate Prof Dr Mohammad Abul Kalam Azad and chairman of the Regent Group and Regent Hospital Mohammad Shahed alias Shahed Karim.

The chargesheet was approved by the ACC head office today (Monday).

ACC public relations officer Muhammad Arif Sadeq said, "The chargesheet will be filed in the court soon."

The accused have been charged with embezzling Tk 3.34 crore for converting a closed Regent Hospital into a dedicated Covid Hospital without renewing its license, executing a memorandum of understanding and conducting sample tests and corona treatment.

The accused in the case are: Chairman of Regent Hospital Limited Mohammad Shahed, former Director General of Health Directorate Prof Dr Mohammad Abul Kalam Azad, former Director Aminul Hasan, Deputy Director (Hospital-1) Dr Md Yunus Ali, Assistant Director (Hospital-1) Dr Md Shafiur Rahman and Research Officer Dr Md Didarul Islam.

Earlier, in a case filed on September 23, 2020, Shahed and five others, including four officials of the health directorate, were accused, but the name of former director general of the health Directorate, Professor Dr Mohammad Abul Kalam Azad, was not on the list of accused.

Farid Ahmed Patwari, the deputy director of the ACC, filed the case as a plaintiff. However, this time his name was included in the chargesheet.

According to the case statement, the accused conspired with each other to convert the closed Regent Hospital into a dedicated Covid Hospital without renewing the license, edited the Memorandum of Understanding and tested the samples of 3,939 Covid patients free of cost in the lab of National Institute of Preventive and Social Medicine- NIPSOM..

It is said that from where Tk one crore 37 lakh 86 thousand 500 has been received as Tk three and a half thousand per patient for illegal payoff. Besides, the regents have highlighted the monthly demand of Tk 1.96 crore for allocating food expenses to doctors, nurses, wardboys and other officials of Mirpur and Uttara branches of the hospital.

The accused were charged under Section 409/420/109 of the Penal Code and Section 5 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947.

Later, the ACC gave the responsibility of investigation to the plaintiff Farid Ahmed Patwari. After a year of investigation, the investigation officer reported to the commission seeking approval of the chargesheet. The commission approved it on Monday.