The High Court on Wednesday ordered two accused to surrender in the trial court within three weeks in a case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on charges of supplying fake N95 masks to the Central Medical Store Depot (CMSD), the government body that sources medical supplies.
The accused are CMSD’s former Deputy Director and Superintendent of Cox’s Bazar General Hospital Md Zakir Hossain Khan and CMSD
Senior Storekeeper Mohammad Yousuf Fakir.
The High Court bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman passed the order after hearing two bail petitions filed by the accused.
Advocate AFM Mesbah Uddin appeared in the court for the petitioners, while advocate Khurshid Alam Khan represented the ACC.
ACC deputy director Md Nurul Huda filed the case on September 29 this year with its Integrated District Office, Dhaka, accusing seven official of CMSD, including the duo.
After filing the case a team of the ACC on the same day arrested JMI Hospital Requisite Manufacturing Ltd Chairman Md Abdur Razzak on charges of supplying fake N95 masks to the Central Medical Store Depot.
According to the case statement, JMI Hospital Requisite Manufacturing Ltd supplied 20610 pieces of fake N95 masks to CMSD in March, and the masks were later distributed among 10 organizations.
The controversy over the mask supply came to the fore in April, when health professionals in various hospitals were questioning the quality of respirators, with some resorting to social media to vent their frustrations.
With the complaints over poor quality respirators surfacing, the CMSD withdrew the masks that were supplied by JMI Hospital Requisite MFG Ltd.
Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan said, “Immediately after the case, JMI Hospital Requisite Manufacturing Ltd Chairman Md Abdur Razzak was arrested. Besides, the ACC imposed a ban on foreign travel of all seven accused.”
“In the mean time two accused of the case, CMSD’s former deputy director and superintendent of Cox’s Bazar General Hospital Md Zakir Hossain Khan and CMSD senior storekeeper Mohammad Yousuf Fakir filed petition seeking bail. After hearing the HC ordered them to surrender in the court in three weeks,” added the lawyer.
