17 files missing from health ministry, GD filed with Shahbagh police station
Seventeen files have gone missing from the health education directorate of the health and family welfare ministry. The ministry filed a general diary (GD) with the Shahbagh police station in the capital on Thursday in this regard.
Officer-in-charge (OC) of the Shahbagh police station, Moudut Hawladar, confirmed the matter to Prothom Alo.
Moudut Hawladar on Saturday said, "A GD was filed on Thursday regarding the missing files. Investigations will commence from tomorrow."
Several sources, however, told Prothom Alo that immediately on Thursday a crime scene unit lead by special superintendent of the police's Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Md Kamruzzaman, went to the secretariat concerning the lost files. The CID officials talked to the officers and employees of the concerned department.
Even 48 hours after the files have gone missing, neither the ministry nor the police have been able to confirm who removed the files.
According to police sources, the files went missing from the room attached to that of the health education and family welfare department's additional secretary (development) Shahadat Hossain. Shahadat Hossain's office is in room no. 29 of building 3 at the secretariat. The room attached to this is used by shorthand stenographer and computer operators Md Joseph Sardar and Ayesha Siddiqua. The files were in the cabinets of these two employees.
The GD filed by the ministry states that after completion of office on 27 October, the files were placed in the cabinet. At 12:00 noon the next day, it was noticed that the files were missing.
Most of the missing files were regarding purchases for various medical colleges and departments under the health education department.
The numbers and subjects of the 17 files were mentioned in the GD. These included several files regarding purchases for Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Medical College, Rajshahi Medical College and other medical colleges, the population-based cervical and breast cancer screening programme including electronic data tracking, vehicle allocation for the training school and procurement.
Files pertaining to several projects of the nursing and midwifery directorate and the health education directorate were also missing.
When contacted over mobile phone about the matter, additional secretary Shahadat Hossain said he was unable to say anything in this regard at the moment.
* The report, originally published in the Prothom Alo Bangla online, has been rewritten for English edition by Ayesha Kabir