Regent Hospital scam: Former DGHS chief Azad surrenders, gets bail till Nov 2

Published at 07:24 am October 7th, 2021

Regent Hospital’s Chairman Md Shahed signing contract with DGHS

File Photo: Regent Hospital Chairman Md Shahed (left), who is now in jail facing trial for fraud and several other charges, posted this photo of "a meeting"at the office of the then director general of DGHS Abul Kalam Azad (second from left) on the social media on April 2, 2020 Facebook

ACC accuses him of signing Covid-19 treatment deal with Regent Hospital, an unlicensed healthcare facility

A Dhaka court has granted bail to former chief of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Abul Kalam Azad, after he surrendered in the case over the Regent Hospital scam.

On Thursday, the court of Senior Special Judge KM Emrul Kayesh granted him ad-interim bail, which will remain valid until November 2.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) had charged the former DGHS director general, Regent Hospital chairman Mohammad Shahed and four others with embezzlement of government funds over the much-talked-about scandal.

Also Read - Former DGHS chief Azad returns from court without surrendering in Regent Hospital scam case

After a year-long investigation, the graft watchdog filed the charges in court on September 30, when the investigating officer pleaded to the court to issue a warrant for Azad, who was listed as a fugitive in the chargesheet.

The others charged in the case are former DGHS director (Hospitals and Clinics) Aminul Hasan, Deputy Director (Hospital-1) Md Younus Ali, Assistant Director (Hospital-1) Md Shafiur Rahman, and Research Officer Md Didarul Islam.

Azad was not named in the case initially but the chargesheet added his name following the probe. He is accused of signing a Covid-19 treatment deal with Regent, an unlicensed hospital.

Journalists gather in front of a building in Uttara where Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) conducts a raid in an office of Regent Hospital Chairman Md Shahed on Wednesday, July 15, 2020 | CollectedThe ACC started the case against Regent Group chairman Md Shahed and four others on September 22 last year.

According to the case documents, the accused converted Regent Hospital, which has shut down, into a dedicated Covid-19 hospital without renewing its licence.

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

The ACC accuses them of embezzling more Tk1.37 crore by testing samples of Covid-19 patients at the lab of state-owned National Institutes of Preventive and Social Medicine (NIPSOM).

They also stand accused of illegally collecting Tk1.96 crore a month 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. He is also being tried for several other fraud charges and sentenced to life in an arms case.