The Bangladesh Chemist and Druggist Samity has given two days’ ultimatum to the government for the unconditional release of the 20 drug traders, who were arrested on Saturday on charges of selling fake drugs.
Sadekur Rahman, president of BCDS, said on Monday afternoon unless the traders were released, they would shut down all drug stores in the country on Thursday and go on an indefinite strike.
A mobile court on Saturday seized three truckloads of drugs worth over Tk50m from the market near the Mitford Hospital in downtown Dhaka, arrested 103 people, filed 74 cases, fined over Tk10.25m and sealed 28 stores.
Sadekur said: “The traders [who were arrested] cannot be held responsible for the fake, adulterated and sub-standard drugs that the mobile court had seized. They do not have any laboratory. How would they know which drug is fake and which is not? The drug companies are the main culprits.”
He also said those companies would not be allowed to do business in the Mitford market until they paid all the fines that the mobile court imposed on the traders.
After Sadekur made the announcements, the drug traders reopened their stores around 2pm on Monday, which they had kept closed since the mobile court drive.
Earlier, around a thousand drug traders gathered in front of the BCDS building on Monday morning, chanting slogans against the BCDS leaders, especially those of the Dhaka city unit.
They demanded that the committee of the BCDS Dhaka city unit be immediately dissolved and election be held. They alleged that none of the leaders could be found anywhere around when the mobile court had conducted the drive on Saturday.
Sadekur also assured that the BCDS committee would be dissolved and elections would be held within a very short time in order to ensure smooth operation.
The current committee of the BCDS Dhaka city unit has been in place for around 20 years.
Jakir Hossain Rony, a local Jubo League leader and the owner of three medicine markets in the area, was giving lead to the agitated traders.
He said: “The Dhaka city unit [BCDS] has 16 leaders. None of them stood beside the traders during the drive. Some of them are involved with the illegal medicine business.”
