Regent MD on 10-day remand over Covid-19 test scam

A Dhaka court on Saturday placed Mizanur Rahman, managing director of the controversial Regent Hospital, on a 10-day remand over issuing fake Covid-19 certificates.

Metropolitan Magistrate Md Mainul Islam passed the order after Uttara West Police Station in Dhaka produced him before court with a 10-day remand plea. 

Earlier, a team from the police station arrested Mizanur in Gopalganj on Friday night.

Tapan Kumar Biswas, officer-in-charge of Uttara West Police Station, told The Business Standard that Mizanur Rahman was involved in the Covid-19 certificate scam. 

"He used to provide workers in the Metrorail project with fake certificates," Tapan said, adding Mizanur had given at least 76 fake Covid test certificates to the workers. 

According to the case statement, Regent Hospital issued 76 fake certificates to the workers of the Metrorail project without testing samples for Covid-19. 

Because of that, transmission of coronavirus has increased among workers, it added.  

Earlier on July 15, a team from the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested Regent Hospital Chairman Shahed Karim in Satkhira. 

On 6 June, the elite force raided the Uttara and Mirpur branches of Regent Hospital over allegations of faking Covid-19 tests. And then RAB sealed off the two branch of the hospital.  

RAB filed cases against 17 people including  Shahed at the Uttara West Police Station on June 7. 

Later, a man named Rezaul Karim filed a case against Shahed and his associates on behalf of a sub-contractor organisation of the Metrorail project