IEDCR chief beaten up at his office allegedly by DAB members

Members of Doctors Association of Bangladesh (DAB), a platform of doctors linked to the ruling BNP, beat up Dr Quazi Ahmed Zaki, director of state-run IEDCR, at his own office on Wednesday morning.

DAB President Prof Dr Harun-al-Rashid confirmed members of the group were involved in the beating incident at the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), but contended that Quazi Ahmed Zaki also has “some faults.”

A video footage of the incident shows a group of men abruptly enters the office of Quazi Ahmed Zaki around 11am on Wednesday, when the IEDCR chief convenes a meeting with 8-9 others.

The unruly group of men forcefully pulls Quazi Ahmed Zaki from his chair, and then starts beating him.

Officials present at the IEDCR meeting said they never saw the attackers before. One official, preferring anonymity, demanding justice for the violence.

To justify the attack on the IEDCR chief, DAB President Harun-al-Rashid alleged that Quazi Ahmed Zaki held a “meeting” with Meerjady Sabrina Flora, a government official with alleged ties to the ousted Awami League regime, at his office.

Meerjady Sabrina Flora served in different important positions at the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), and IEDCR during the Awami League regime. During the Covid-19 pandemic, she gained popularity through televised addresses calling on the people to adhere to health protocols.

Later, she became the director general of DGHS.

After the fall of the Awami regime, Meerjady was made the director of the National Institute of Preventive and Social Medicine (NIPSOM). About a month after the regime’s fall, she was made an officer on special duty (OSD) and attached with DGHS.

Following the February general elections, the BNP government appointed Quazi Ahmed Zaki as the chief of IEDCR.