Shahed’s misdeeds seemingly know no bounds
A significant number of doctors and nurses became infected because of the sub-standard equipment supplied by Shahed during the beginning of the outbreak
The Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police continue to unearth grim details about many fraudulent activities allegedly committed by Shahed.
He had spread his web of deception far and wide, and the only goal he seemed to have in his mind was to scam people out of their money.
DB officials have learned that along with the health sector, his criminal activities had expanded into many other fields, said Additional Commissioner of the Detective Branch Abdul Baten while speaking at a media briefing on Saturday.
According to DB sources, soon after the Covid-19 crisis hit Bangladesh, Shahed opened a Facebook page for a company named "Albard Global Factories."
He used this to supply safety equipment such as PPE (personal protective equipment) and masks to government hospitals and other customers.
But in reality, the factory only existed on paper. Shahed secured approval from the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) to sell the safety equipment, but he did not maintain the standards set by World Health Organisation (WHO).
A significant number of doctors and nurses became infected because of the sub-standard equipment that Shahed supplied.
According to sources, Shahed made a contract to buy a hotel from the owner. But, he did not pay the full amount as per the agreement. Instead, Shahed paid only Tk20 lakh to the owner then took over the hotel.
After Shahed got arrested, the hotel owner lodged a complaint with law enforcers.
Additional Commissioner of the Detective Branch, Abdul Baten said, "We are getting a lot of information about Shahed's fraudulent activities. In the interest of the investigation we will not be able to disclose everything.
"All related information will be disclosed after completion of the investigation." He also added that Shahed supplied 50,000 PPEs, one lakh masks and 20,000 body bags.
Responding to a query, Abdul Baten said, "We will inform DGHS and the health ministry about our investigation. If they want to take departmental action against the involved government officials, they can do it.
"We will also help them if they want to take legal action against officials involved in the scam."
On Wednesday, a team from the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested Regent Hospital Chairman Shahed Karim from Satkhira.
RAB, on June 6, raided the Uttara and Mirpur branches of Regent Hospital over allegations of faking Covid-19 tests. RAB also filed a case against 17 people including Shahed at Uttara west police station on June 7.
Meanwhile, a Dhaka court on Wednesday placed Regent Group Chairman Shahed Karim and Managing Director Masud Parvez on 10-day remand and employee Tarekul Islam on a 7-day remand over allegations of faking Covid-19 tests and embezzlement.
