Dhaka health centre demolition: 4 arrested

Shah Ali police have arrested four people over the vandalism and looting at the Radda MCH-FP Centre in Mirpur-1 in the capital at midnight after tying up security guards.

Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Shah Ali police station Jahangir Alam confirmed the information on Saturday afternoon. The arrested individuals are Md Sohel, 22, Md Juel, 23, Jihad Hasan, 21, and Md Rabbi, 20.

Jahangir Alam told Prothom Alo that the four were arrested in a raid on Friday night for their involvement in the attack. They confessed to their involvement. They were sent to court. The drive to arrest those involved is still ongoing.

It has been learnt that three of the four arrested people are floating people from Shah Ali Mazar. They took part in the vandalism in exchange for money.

At around midnight last Thursday, the Radda MCH-FP Centre in Mirpur-1 was vandalised and looted. More than 200 masked people allegedly entered the centre with locally made weapons and held two security guards hostage.

They later looted valuable equipment, medicines, vaccines, cash and other goods. The entire facility was then demolished using heavy machinery, including one concrete and three semi-concrete buildings.

The organisation said a case had been filed with Shah Ali police station over the incident. Executive Director of the centre Nasrin Akhter said they had not yet received a copy of the case statement.

The Radda MCH-FP Centre began operations in Mirpur in 1974 to provide maternal and child healthcare to disadvantaged and low-income people in the area. The organisation currently provides various services, including child vaccination, child healthcare, reproductive health and family planning.