Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has arrested Faisal Al Islam, the managing director of Shahabuddin Medical College Hospital (SMCH), for using unauthorised Covid-19 test kits and forging Covid-19 test reports.
Lt Col Ashique Billah, director of Legal and Media wing of RAB Headquarters, confirmed the matter, saying he was apprehended by a team of RAB-1 from a local residential hotel in Gulshan Monday night.
Earlier on 20 July, RAB-1 filed a case against Faisal, son of the hospital’s chairman Mohammad Shahabuddin, as well as Assistant Director Dr Abul Hasnat and Inventory Officer Shariz Kabir Shadik.
On 19 July, RAB shut down SMCH in Dhaka’s Gulshan over a series of irregularities after a raid amid allegations that it had been conducting unauthorized Covid-19 tests.
On that day, the RAB team, led by Executive Magistrate Sarwoer Alam, arrested Dr Abul Hasnat and Shariz Kabir Shadik during the raid.
Earlier RAB officials said that the SMCH had been treating Covid-19 patients to draw massive amounts of bills, and they had also been charging excessive money from patients. Besides, the hospital was performing antibody tests without the health authorities' approval. RAB further said the hospital's licence to operate medical treatment expired in June 2019.
However, the SMCH authorities refuted the allegations brought by the RAB through a media brief on Monday (20 July).
The Hospital authorities also denied responsibility for the use of unapproved coronavirus rapid testing kits developed by Gonoshasthaya Kendra.
On 20 July, Gonoshasthaya Kendra issued a statement saying that their law department would take appropriate legal steps against SMCH and claimed they had no relation with such tests. They claimed the news of using their kits in Covid-19 tests at SMCH was 'totally false'.
nh/teb
