Missing file incident is appalling, says health minister
At least 17 health ministry files are currently missing
The case of sensitive files going missing from the ministry is appalling, said Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Tuesday, speaking during an event at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU).
The minister said both he and ministry officials are revolted by the incident.
"The ministry has already taken necessary steps, and further action will be taken against the culprits after police investigation," the minister added.
At least 17 files containing sensitive information mysteriously went missing from the health ministry.
This came to light on Saturday even though a general diary (GD) was filed with Shahbagh police station in this regard on Thursday evening.
The files – mostly purchase documents – were stored at the Secretariat office of Medical Education and Family Welfare Division Additional Secretary (Development) Shahadat Hossain.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) took three new people into custody on Tuesday in connection with the case. They are Ahid Khan, Selim, and Habib.
Ahid is the personal officer (PO) of an additional secretary in the Bureau of Health Education. Selim and Habib are also employees of the ministry. So far, in the course of their investigation, the CID has taken into custody, nine ministry employees and a contractor named Toton.
The missing files include multiple documents involving purchases for Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Medical College, Rajshahi Medical College, and other medical colleges, vehicle allocation and purchase-related documents for training schools, data on cervical and breast cancer screening programmes, documents on health directorate purchases, and project files under the Bureau of Health Education.
Toton, procurement contractor for Rajshahi Medical College, was brought to Dhaka on Monday night for questioning.