Mirpur branch of Regent Hospital was sealed off on Wednesday, a day after its Uttara Branch and head office were sealed off for issuing several thousand fake COVID-19 certificates while its chairman Md Shahed have been absconding.
A RAB team raided the Mirpur Branch and sealed it off as the hospital was found to have been forging COVID-19 certificates, said RAB-4 deputy director Major Rakibul Hasan.
RAB mobile court’s executive magistrate Sarwoer Alam raided the hospital in the afternoon and sealed it off after seizing some documents and CPUs.
Meanwhile, a virtual court in Dhaka placed seven officials and staff members of Regent Group on a five-day remand each in a case over issuing fake COVID-19 test results.
Regent Group project officer Rakibul Islam Sumon, human resources officer Amit Banik, health technologists Ahsan Habib Hasan and Hatim Ali, administrative officer Ahsan Habib, employee Abdur Rashid Khan Jewel and driver Abdus Salam were sent on remand in the case filed by RAB officials with Uttara West police station on Tuesday night.
Meanwhile, the court rejected a bail petition of another 17-year-old accused and sent him to Tongi Children Correctional Centre as the investigation officer did not submit any remand prayer for him.
Metropolitan Magistrate Sadbir Yasir Ahsan Chowdhury passed the order after Md Alamgir Gazi, an inspector of Uttara Paschim police station and also the investigation officer of the case, produced them before the court with a seven-day remand prayer.
RAB-4 assistant director Alim Mohammad Abdullah said Regent Hospital’a Mirpur branch was found shut when RAB team arrived there on Wednesday afternoon as no patients and medical staff members were there.
RAB then brought some officials by calling over cellphone and sealed it off after seizing some documents.
The initiative was taken as directorate general of health service on Tuesday instructed immediate shut down of Uttara and Mirpur branches of Regent Hospital.
A case was filed against 17 officials and staff members of Regent Hospital including its chairman Md Shahed on Tuesday night in connection with several thousand fake COVID-19 certificates and charging people for free tests.
In a briefing on the day, RAB intelligence chief Sarwar bin Qasem said that they were trying to arrest Shahed, who was under surveillance.
Shahed used to introduce himself as a member of ruling party Awami League’s sub-committee for foreign affairs. But his name was not there, party leaders confirmed.
He had been maintaining good relations with many politicians and media personalities. He used to share images with ruling party leaders on social media and benefited from different quarters showing his rapport with politicians, said RAB officials.
Sarwar said that Shahed was earlier arrested in 2011 for financial fraudulence and was in jail for few months.
RAB officials are also planning to file a money-laundering case against Shahed since he has embezzled over Tk 3 crore by licensed-expired Regent Hospital.
RAB investigators said that Shahed was using fake NID and there are several cases against him in different police stations of Dhaka and other districts.
Executive magistrate Sarwoer said that they have seized a jeep from Regent Group’s head office on Tuesday which was used by Shahed.
The unregistered jeep has a sticker of the health departments, although Shahed was not part of the DGHS or any other health departments.
Earlier, on Monday, RAB conducted raids at the Uttara and Mirpur branches of the Regent Hospital in Dhaka and found that it forged over 6,000 COVID-19 certificates and embezzled over Tk 3 crore in the name of providing COVID-19 testing facilities and treatments.
The mobile court, led by executive magistrate Sarwoer Alam on Tuesday raided at the Regent Group head office and seized some fake certificates, many unauthorized rapid testing kits, a unregistered jeep.
Sarwoer told reporters in a briefing that certificates were forged in main office at Uttara sector-12 and then sold to different people at price of Tk 3,500.
Most of the fake certificates were showing negative results, said an officer of RAB.❑
