Dhaka, Nov 11, (V7N) – The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has conducted drives at four locations across the country over allegations of artificially creating shortages of 117 essential medicines, collecting excessive fees for deed registration, harassing patients at a hospital and irregularities in road renovation work.
The ACC's enforcement unit carried out the operations on Wednesday, according to a press release.
Following allegations that artificial shortages of 117 essential medicines had been created in the market and that higher-priced medicines with additional formulations were being sold instead of regular alternatives, causing financial losses to consumers and posing risks to public health, an ACC team from its head office conducted a drive at the Directorate General of Drug Administration. During the operation, the enforcement team collected the list of 117 essential medicines, minutes of meetings of the committee responsible for determining medicine prices and other relevant documents.
In Pabna, the ACC's integrated district office conducted an operation at the Sadar Upazila Sub-Registrar's Office over allegations of collecting additional money in connection with deed registration and obtaining certified copies, as well as harassing service recipients. The team members spoke with service seekers near deed writers' offices, the record room and the courtroom, and gathered information and documents related to the allegations. Preliminary findings from the statements of service recipients indicated allegations of additional fee collection. They alleged that deed writers, in the name of the "Deed Writers' Association," were charging between Taka 2,000 and Taka 10,000 per person beyond the government-prescribed fees for deed registration.
In Dinajpur, the ACC's district office conducted a drive at Dinajpur Medical College Hospital over allegations of harassment of patients, prolonged malfunctioning of diagnostic equipment resulting in wastage of public funds, the activities of brokers and negligence in maintaining the hospital environment and cleanliness. During the operation, the enforcement team initially monitored various hospital activities undercover. It later spoke with the hospital director, collected relevant documents and inspected different departments and service facilities on the premises.
In Netrokona, the ACC's integrated district office in Mymensingh conducted an operation over allegations of using substandard construction materials and failing to follow the approved work order and specifications in the renovation of nearly seven kilometres of the Abhaypasha Bypass Road in Atpara upazila. To verify the allegations and assess the quality of the construction work, the team collected project-related documents in the presence of an independent engineer, recorded statements from relevant individuals and inspected the project site. Local residents were also interviewed about the project's implementation progress and construction quality.
The ACC said it would review the information and documents collected during the operations, findings from field inspections and, where necessary, technical assessments by independent engineers before submitting separate comprehensive reports on the allegations to the Commission.
