No action has yet been taken either against Sikder Group, as two Sikder brothers were found involved in a huge financial crime or against JMI group, which supplied fake N95 facemasks to the government health department nor against United Hospital for the death of five Covid-19 patients in a freak fire incident.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has issued a strong warning against corrupt people, categorically saying that government's stern action against the corrupt and dishonest persons will continue.
"Let me tell you one thing very clearly, if anyone makes money through dishonest ways, if that person's dishonesty, indiscipline and irregularities get caught, then whoever that person may be, even if that person belongs to my party, our actions will continue against them," the Prime Minister said at an expatriate civic reception accorded to her by the US Awami League at Hotel Marriott Marquis in New York in the USA last year.
Now questions arise, are Sikdar Group, JMI Group and United Hospital authorities more powerful than those at the helm of the government. And why are they allowed to go scot free up till now?
The social media was abuzz with reports of dishonest rich people getting their way by paying huge amount of money as bribe and immense pressure from the vested groups within the government.
The two brothers involved in the recent financial crime are Ron
Haque Sikder and Dipu Haque Sikder, both directors of leading corporate entity Sikder Group.
Both the brothers were engaged in becoming richer by using influence and brute force when the whole world including Bangladesh was busy fighting deadly coronavirus pandemic.
The duo in course of using influence indulged in grave crimes and they successfully hid their crimes for more than two weeks before fleeing the country in the darkness of the night on board an air ambulance of their company.
Interestingly, they reportedly fled the country when all private and commercial flights were suspended in most countries to restrict spread of the coronavirus. One of the brothers pretending to be sick and another posing as an attendant of the patient reportedly managed clearances from the law enforcement and Civil Aviation authorities to fly from the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka.
The brothers also successfully engaged Bangladesh Foreign Ministry to direct the Bangladesh Embassy in Bangkok to take special permission from the Thai authorities to allow their air ambulance to land at one of the city's airports.
In this connection a case was filed with Gulshan Police Station on May 19 in 2020, twelve days after the incident. The filing of the case was allegedly delayed due to immense pressure from the vested groups within the government.
According to the case statement, the Sikder Group applied for a loan of Tk 500 crore sometimes ago and to discuss the matter Ron Haque Sikder and National Bank Managing Director Mostak Ahmed went to the head office of Exim Bank on May 7. They took Exim Bank Managing Director Mohammad Haider Ali Mia and Additional Managing Director Mohammad Firoz Hossain to the site of the Sikder Group directors' mortgaged property - Adi Nawab Askari Jute Mills in Rupganj - to inspect it for the loan.
Later, a security guard forcibly took them, at gunpoint, to Sikder House at Banani, where Ron and his brother allegedly forced the victims to sign a paper agreeing that everything was all right with the project. They compelled the additional MD to affix his signature to the paper as a witness.
Another company, JMI is a supplier of medical equipment and accessories to the Central Medical Stores Depot (CMSD).
The Health Department mysteriously did not take any action against JMI Group, which delivered substandard N95 facemasks during the Covid-19 breakout in the country.
The Health Department of the government has been sharply criticised for providing fake N95 facemasks to the frontline doctors and medical staff. Investigation agency found that a syndicate run by Mithu was in control of the vital Health Department. Mithu is said to have close relations with high officials of the Health Department.
The syndicate first supplied fake N95 facemasks to Mugda General Hospital. The hospital authority found that although boxes labelled 300 "N95" facemasks, the boxes contained no such masks. Other hospitals also complained of the quality of the personal protective equipment (PPE).
The government constituted a probe committee to investigate into the supply of substandard N95 facemasks. The committee report suggested taking action against the officials who received the products labelled N95 facemasks. However, interestingly, it did not suggest any action against the supplier, JMI Group.
In the first week of April, a social media storm erupted over allegations of supply of fake facemasks to several state-run hospitals instead of genuine N95 masks.
Meanwhile, an investigation committee report on United Hospital fire held the hospital authorities responsible for the death of five patients in a fire at the makeshift Covid-19 isolation unit of the hospital on May 27.
The Fire Service and Civil Defence found evidences of gross mismanagement and negligence of the United Hospital authorities for the death of the patients.
The fire originated from an old and faulty air-conditioner in the Covid-19 isolation unit of the United Hospital. 'They simply killed five patients in the makeshift isolation unit of the hospital on May 27,' sources said.
United Hospital authorities must take responsibility for the death of five Covid -19 patients, said the report.
As the hospital is responsible for the killing of five Covid-19 patients they must provide compensation to the victims' families.
The hospital, known for its expensive services, came to make the headlines all for the wrong reasons in the recent past too.
A police investigation committee has also taken testimonies of 25 people regarding the incident.
