A mobile court of Rapid Action Battalion on Saturday jailed 20 medicine traders for one year and fined 83 others for manufacturing, marketing and selling fake, illegal and unauthorised medicines in different shops at 13 markets in the capital’s Babubazar and Mitford Hospital areas.
The mobile court also seized medicines worth Tk50m and sealed off 28 shops and storehouses.
The court led by Rab Executive Magistrate Sharif Md Farhad Hossain sentenced the 20 traders one year imprisonment and fined 83 others Tk12.55m amid angry protests.
The traders also locked into a clash with members of Rab 10 protesting the verdict.
“So far a total of 103 people were convicted and of them, 20 were jailed for one year”, said Farhad and adding that the rest 83 people were fined from Tk100,000 to 300,000.
The magistrate said during the day-long drives, a total of 80 cases were filed against the businessmen for possessing and marketing of various fake, illegal and unauthorised medicines.
Centering the court order, several hundred traders and their employees staged angry demonstrations and locked into clashes with the Rab men, leaving a number of people injured.
Later, the leaders of different associations of medicine market rushed in and brought the situation under control.
Major Mamun, commander of Rab10 said such drives against the manufacturing, marketing and selling of illegal medicines would remain continued.