Health centre demolished at midnight in Dhaka

The Radda MCH-FP Centre in Mirpur 1, Dhaka, was vandalised and looted at midnight after tying up security guards. More than 200 masked men entered the centre carrying locally made weapons and first held two security guards hostage. They then looted valuable equipment, medicines, vaccines, cash and other belongings. Later, the entire facility, including one concrete and three semi-concrete buildings, was demolished using heavy machinery.

The vandalism took place around midnight on Thursday. The attack was carried out under the banner of an organisation called “Sammona Dokandar Samabaya Samiti Limited”. Physician Nasrin Akhter, executive director of the Radda MCH-FP Centre, claimed that the damage amounted to more than Tk 10 million. She filed a case with Shah Ali police station as the plaintiff in connection with the incident.

Two factions of the local BNP had allegedly been trying to take control of the land for a long time. On Thursday night, one faction took control of it under the name Sammona Dokandar Samabaya Samiti Limited. Several local sources said BNP leader Ferdousi Ahmed Mishti, a lawmaker from a reserved women’s seat, is leading the faction. She is joint convener of Dhaka North City BNP. She is the wife of a deceased councillor and sister of a deceased BNP MP.

Officials of the vaccination centre alleged that they informed police during the attack and vandalism. Although police went to the scene, they failed to protect the facility. The entire building was demolished. However, Shah Ali police said legal action would be taken after investigation once a case was filed.

A visit to the site yesterday, Friday afternoon, found that the Radda MCH-FP vaccination centre was located between Muktijoddha Market and Fair Plaza Market, adjacent to Mirpur 1. The centre’s main gate was locked. Some construction materials, including bamboo and poles, were lying around. There was a signboard above the gate. It read, “Sammona Dokandar Samabaya Samiti Limited is the owner of this plot, allotted by the National Housing Authority of the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh and registered in its name. The area of the land is 10 kathas.”

Later, going to the rear of the vaccination centre through a nearby alley, it was seen that the boundary wall of the centre had been demolished. Three concrete and semi-concrete buildings standing next to one another had also been demolished. Broken plaster, bamboo, poles and other construction materials were scattered around. The doors and windows of the rooms had been removed. Although some rooms still had doors, they bore marks of blows from sharp weapons. Furniture, medicines, vaccines and capsules from inside the rooms were scattered on the floor. There was a large mango tree in one corner of the premises. However, several of its branches had been cut off and left there. Curious crowd had gathered to look at the scene.

A shopkeeper next to the vaccination centre, speaking to Prothom Alo on condition of anonymity, said he closed his shop at 10pm and went home. When he returned in the morning, he found that nothing was left. Poor people could get vaccinated here at a low cost. But now it looks like a pile of rubble. Whoever did it, it was not a good thing.

The Radda MCH-FP Centre began its operations in 1974 to provide maternal and child healthcare services to disadvantaged and low-income people in Mirpur. The centre was launched at the initiative of Radda Barnen, an organisation of the then Swedish Save the Children. Currently, the organisation provides reproductive health and family planning services, antenatal and postnatal care, child vaccination, child healthcare and community health programmes. Its three permanent clinics also offer various testing facilities, including pathology, biochemistry and haematology, according to patients’ needs. Although its main centre is in the Mirpur 10 area, the organisation’s services extend to Mirpur 1, Bauniabad, Uttara, Bhasantek slum and Old Dhaka.

Prominent industrialist and International Chamber of Commerce Bangladesh President Mahbubur Rahman is the chairperson of the organisation’s board of trustees, while social worker Tahurunnesa Abdullah, the first Bangladeshi woman to receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award, known as Asia’s Nobel, serves as treasurer. Former bureaucrat Abdul Mueed Chowdhury, prominent businessmen ASM Kasem and AKAzad, and former secretary Abdul Karim are also members of the board of trustees. Kazi Fazlur Rahman, adviser to the first caretaker government and a former secretary; renowned gynaecologist Professor TA Chowdhury; and engineer Professor Jamilur Reza Choudhury had served on the organisation’s board of trustees.

The organisation’s Executive Director Nasrin Akhter said some people had been trying to occupy the land in the name of Sammona Samabaya Samiti for the past five to six years. An attempt was also made in 2022, but they failed at the time. They came on Thursday night and demolished everything. The attack was carried out with the intention of occupying the land, she said.

The first information report (FIR) filed over the vandalism and looting said that around midnight on Thursday, 200 to 250 masked men carrying sharpen weapons, hammers and sticks climbed over the wall and entered the premises. They beat two security guards at the vaccination centre, Andria Sarker and Abdul Hai. They later tied them to a pole. They took control of the entire building and prevented members of the public from entering. At one point, they broke the main gate and vandalised all the rooms of the building using heavy machinery used for demolishing buildings. The FIR names a man identified as Hanif Mia, 50.

The FIR also said the attackers took government EPI vaccines, government registers and documents related to vaccination, various family planning equipment and supplies, medicines and vaccines, two ultrasonography machines, a generator, two computers, a printer, three refrigerators, three air conditioners (ACs), three steel cupboards, CCTV cameras, chairs, tables and other furniture. The total damage amounted to Tk 10.9 million. Before leaving, the attackers put up a banner on the wall bearing the name “Sammona Dokandar Samabaya Samiti Limited”.

According to locals, shopkeepers and relevant sources, two factions of the local BNP had been trying to occupy the land for a long time. A case had also been filed over the land. As a result, no one had been able to occupy it for so long. Since the BNP came to power in 2026, attempts had again been made to occupy the land under the banner of Sammona Dokandar Samabaya Samiti. BNP leader Ferdousi Ahmed Mishti, a lawmaker from a reserved women’s seat, is leading the faction. Most recently, they demolished the institution and occupied the land on Thursday night.

Asked about this, Ferdousi Ahmed told Prothom Alo that she had also heard about the vandalism. She could not go there because she was busy. Although her name is associated with Sammona Dokandar Samabaya Samiti, she was not involved in the vandalism. Since a case has been filed over the vandalism, she said police should investigate the incident in accordance with the law.

Executive Director Nasrin Akhter told Prothom Alo that the Radda MCH-FP Centre had been providing free primary healthcare, maternity and family planning services to poor and helpless women and children for nearly 50 years in partnership with the government. She said it was an important healthcare centre for thousands of people in the area. They had been operating the institution under an agreement with the government. She said the government’s measles-rubella vaccination programme was scheduled to begin today. The institution was demolished just before that.

Shah Ali police station Officer-in-Charge Jahangir Alam told Prothom Alo that a case had been filed over the attack and vandalism. Appropriate legal action would be taken after investigating the incident.