ACC files charge sheet against former DGHS chief, 6 others

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Thursday submitted a charge sheet against six people, including the former director general of Directorate General of Health Service (DGHS) Abul Kalam Azad in a case filed over the Regent Hospital scam.

ACC Deputy Director Md Farid Ahmed Patwary, also the investigating officer (IO) of the case, submitted the charge sheet to the Senior Special Judges Court in Dhaka.

Among the six accused, Regent Group chairman Shahed Karim was named in the charge sheet in the case filed over embezzling government funds in the name of coronavirus sample collection and treatment without having any licence.

The rest of the accused are -- former DGHS director (Hospitals and Clinics) Dr Aminul Hasan, Deputy Director (Hospital-1) Dr Md Younus Ali,  Assistant Director (Hospital-1) Dr Md Shafiur Rahman, and Research Officer Dr Md Didarul Islam.

Abul Kalam Azad’s name was included in the charge sheet even though it was not mentioned in the First Information Report (FIR) of the case.

Also Read- Charges brought against former DGHS chief in Regent Hospital scam case

Of them, Shahed is now in jail while four others are out on bail.

Azad was shown as a fugitive in the charge sheet. The IO appealed to the court to issue an arrest warrant against Azad as he did not get bail from any court.

The ACC filed the case against Regent Group chairman Md Shahed and four others on September 22 last year.

According to the case statement, the accused converted Regent Hospital, which had shut down, into a dedicated Covid-19 hospital without renewing its licence and abused power, as they wanted to be benefited by illegal means.

They embezzled over Tk1.37 crore by testing samples of Covid-19 patients in a government-run lab Nipsom, the statement added.

The accused also attempted to illegally collect Tk1.96 crore monthly as food allowance for doctors, nurses, and other officials of the hospital. 

On July 15 last year, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) detained Shahed from the border area in Satkhira over various fraudulent charges during the ongoing pandemic.