Staff Reporter :
Ten contractors have misappropriated around Tk 2,000 crore showing additional price of medical equipment from the country’s Health Sector as they grabbed most of the tenders of the sector in the last five years, according to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) sources.
The ACC report said, the contractors got the tenders with the help of high officials of the Health Division and the hospitals.
A relative of Munshi Sajjad Hossain, Administrative Officer of the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, said that they have five institutions and supply medical equipment to several hospitals in Dhaka and Faridpur. Tampering the price, they grabbed over Tk 100 crore. The government has blacklisted the institutions recently.
On the other hand, Contractor Jaher Uddin and his relatives have three institutions named Bengal Scientific, Mercantile Trade and Universal Trade. The institutions have grabbed around Tk 250 crore.
Afzal Hossain, a controversial contractor in the Health Sector, has embezzled around Tk 200 crore through his three institutions named Rahman Trade, Rulman Trade and Rupa Fashion. Afzal and his wife are now abroad as the ACC started investigation against them.
Like the above contractors, Mosaddek Hossain of HM Pharma, Manjur Ahmed of Manila Medicine, Joynal Abedin of Ovi Drugs, Alamgir Hossain of Alvira Pharmacy, Mohammad Mintu of SM Traders, Nazrul Islam of Punam Trade International and Rabiul Islam of RCS Enterprise have grabbed around Tk 1500 crore tampering the price of the medical equipment. On June 9, a letter signed by Hasan Mahmud, Deputy Secretary of the Health Service Division of the Health Ministry, asked the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) to take necessary steps by blacklisting these institutions.
The DGHS have blacklisted 14 of the institutions. The institutions are Rubina Khanom of Rahman and her institution- Trade International. She is wife of Afzal Hossain, accountant of the DGHS, Messrs Anik Traders and its proprietor Abdullah Al Mamun, Messrs Ahmed Enterprise and Munshi Farrukh Hossain, Messrs Manila Medicine & Messrs SK Traders and Proprietor Manzoor Ahmed, MH Pharma and Proprietor Mosaddek Hossain, Ovi Drugs and Proprietor Md Joynal Abedin, Alvera Pharmacy and Proprietor Alamgir Hossain, SM Traders and Proprietor Md Mintu, Mercantile Trade International and proprietor Abdus Sattar Sarker and Md Ahsan Habib, Bengal Scientific and Surgical Company and Md. Jaher Uddin Sarkar, Universal Trade Corporation and Md Asadur Rahman, ASL’s Managing Director and CEO Aftab Ahmed and Blair Aviation and proprietor Mokshedul Islam.
Dr Abul Kalam Azad, Director General of DGHS, said, “The ACC has given us a letter to blacklist the 14 institutions. Following the letter, we have blacklisted them and we have taken steps so that they do not get any more contract in future.”
ACC Chairman Iqbal Mahmud said, “The present commission has taken several preventive measures to wipe out corruption in the Health Sector. As a part of it, some 11 cases have been filed against the 14 institutions.”
