Health centre assailants must be arrested despite political identities: DNCC admin

Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Administrator Safiqul Islam Khan on Saturday requested the law enforcement agencies to arrest the vandals and looters without consideration of their political identities for demolishing a vaccine centre in Mirpur, which had been used for the city corporation's vaccination programme for a long time.

He made the request while speaking at the inauguration of the “Nationwide Special Measles-Rubella Vaccination Campaign-2026” at the TNT playground in the capital’s Korail slum in Mohakhali.

Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain was also present at the event.

Safiqul said the government does not want incidents like the vandalism and looting at the Radda MCH-FP Centre in Mirpur-1 in the capital.

The Radda MCH-FP Centre in Mirpur-1 was vandalised and looted around midnight on Thursday. Locals said that more than 200 masked men armed with local weapons entered the centre and held two security guards hostage.

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

The vandalism was allegedly carried out under the banner of an organisation called “Sammona Dokandar Samabaya Samity Limited.”

Nasrin Akhter, executive director of the Radda MCH-FP Centre, claimed that property worth more than Tk1 crore was damaged in the incident. She filed a case with Shah Ali Police Station over the incident.

There are also allegations that two factions of the local BNP had been trying to take control of the land for a long time. One faction allegedly occupied the site on Thursday night under the banner of Sammona Dokandar Samabaya Samity Limited.

Responding to journalists, Administrator Shafiqul Islam Khan said he visited the site on Friday after learning about the incident and assessed the situation. However, those responsible for the incident at night could not immediately be identified.

He said he had spoken to the deputy commissioner of police concerned. Police informed him that a case had been filed and an investigation was under way. Efforts were being made to identify and arrest those involved by examining footage from various cameras.

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Radda MCH office demolished, looted in Mirpur

The administrator also said, “If there was any legal dispute between an association and the MCH-FP Centre over the land, it would have to be settled through the court. If there was any dispute over the land or structures, it should be resolved through legal procedures.”

Asked whether the vaccination programme could continue after the demolition, the administrator said the vaccination programme had already resumed there. The concerned authorities would continue their activities, and the city corporation would provide whatever assistance was required, he said.

The administrator was also asked why the administration could not prevent the demolition despite the fact that the destruction of the facility continued for a considerable period.

He said, "There is no complete building at the site. Rather, there were structures resembling tin-shed facilities. To his knowledge, the site consisted of a makeshift market and semi-permanent structures, and there was no proper building or structure there.

However, he stressed that whoever carried out the incident did not have their support and that legal action would be taken against those responsible.