ACC summons ex-DGHS DG Azad

The Anti-Corruption Commission on Thursday summoned immediate past Directorate General of Health Services director general Abul Kalam Azad to interrogate him over his alleged involvement in N95 mask scam and irregularities regarding the agreement between Regent Hospital and DGHS.

The commission decided to interrogated Azad on August 12 as part of its ongoing inquiry into low-quality health products including N-95 masks delivered to some government hospitals by some companies, ACC director for public relations Pranab Kumar Bhattacharjee said, adding that the commission would interrogate him on August 13 over the irregularities regarding the agreement between Regent Hospital and DGHS.

On July 21, Azad resigned amid widespread criticism over massive irregularities in the country’s health sector, exposed one after another during the current COVID-19 pandemic.

He submitted his resignation to the public administration ministry as the DHGS chief was in the service on contract after his service term ended in 2019.

The health ministry and the DHGS were trading blame recently as the law enforcement agencies revealed COVID-19 test report forgeries at several private hospitals under the nose of the health administration.

Several other scams involving the health sector were also exposed later, including N95 mask scams, and controversial deals with Regent Hospital and JKG Health Care, which were accused of faking and selling COVID-19 reports and running the facilities without licences.