6 more sent to jail in incident of demolishing health centre in Mirpur

The court has sent six more arrested persons to jail in the incident of demolishing the office and health centre of the private organisation RADDA MCH in Mirpur of Dhaka. Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Nazmin Akter gave this order on Sunday.

The persons sent to jail are Shahadat Hossain, Kazi Makbul Hossain, Shah Alam, Atikur Rahman, Kamrul Islam and Shakil.

Investigation officer of the case Sub-Inspector of Shah Ali police station Md Atowar Rahman applied for sending them to jail. Lawyer Muhammad Emran applied for bail on behalf of the accused. However he wanted to hold the bail hearing tomorrow on Monday. Later the court sent the accused to jail and fixed Monday for the bail hearing.

Earlier four persons named Md Sohel, Md Jewel, Md Jihad Hasan and Md Rabbi were sent to jail on Saturday. With this 10 persons have been sent to jail so far in the case of vandalising the health centre.

RADDA MCH-FP Centre located at Section No 1 of Mirpur is a private healthcare institution. The institution claims that they have been providing free primary healthcare, maternity service and family planning service to the poor and helpless mothers and children for about 50 years on the basis of partnership with the government.

According to the FIR of the case, a group of people entered inside the health centre by taking heavy equipment at midnight on Thursday. They climbed over the wall by taking hammers, sticks and local weapons and beat and tied up the night guards Andriya Sarkar and Md Abdul Hai who were there.

After that several pucca and semi-pucca buildings were demolished by entering inside the establishment by taking an excavator. It has been mentioned in the case that among them there was a building for providing family planning service and the rooms used by the responsible officers and doctors of the clinic.

It has further been said in the FIR that furniture and medical equipment of various rooms were destroyed during the vandalism. The doors and windows of the rooms of ultrasonography, vaccination and laboratory were also vandalised. Later the allegation of taking away various medicines and materials, ultrasonography machine, generator, computer, printing machine, fridge, air-conditioning machine and steel almirah from there has been made.

The allegation of the institution is that the attackers put a banner and signboard of a cooperative society on the entire establishment by threatening and intimidating the night guards and left. After the incident the pictures and videos of the debris of the office and establishment of the health centre also spread on social media.

In this incident Executive Director of RADDA Nasrin Akhtar filed a case at Shah Ali police station. Local BNP leader Hanif along with 200 to 250 persons have been made accused in the case. Shah Ali police station is investigating the case.