Rozina Islam taken to hospital for checkup

Prothom Alo’s senior correspondent Rozina Islam has been taken to Square Hospital in the capital for checkup on Sunday evening.

Earlier, she was released from the Kashimpur High Security Prison at 4.20 pm on Sunday after six days. Later, relatives took her to the hospital.

Rozina Islam’s sister Sabina Parvez told Prothom Alo, “Rozina was taken to the emergency unit of Square Hospital at 6.25 pm. She is undergoing medical checkup.”

Rozina Islam’s husband said several tests are being conducted including city scan.

Rozina is accompanied by her colleagues and relatives at the hospital.

Rozina Islam, who published a number of investigative reports unveiling corruption involving billions of taka amid the Covid-19 pandemic, went to the health ministry on 17 May to carry out her profession duties. She was kept there confined for over five hours and harassed by the officials.

At one point she fell ill but she was not provided with any medical treatment. At around 8:30 pm, police took her to the Shahbagh police station and was kept at police custody for 11 hours. The case was filed against her by the health services division of health ministry deputy secretary Md Shibbir Ahmed Osmani around 11:45 pm that day.

Rozina was produced before the court the next morning and was kept in lock-up for almost three hours. Police also pleaded for a five-day remand but the court turned the plea down. It took almost 23 hours from her harassment and hearing at the court to send her to Kashimpur jail in Gazipur. Her bail hearing was held on Thursday. The court fixed Sunday to pass the order.

A Dhaka court on Sunday granted Rozina Islam interim bail until 15 July. The court of Dhaka chief metropolitan magistrate granted the bail on condition of submitting a bond of Tk 5,000 and her passport in the case filed under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act and two sections of Penal Code, by a health ministry official.