The High Court suggested to wait for the report by the probe body launched over surgical masks, labelled as N95 masks, supplied by JMI Hospitals Requisite Mfg Ltd and hearing a petition over the matter at its regular bench.
The bench of Justice Obaidul Hassan made the suggestion during Monday’s online proceedings amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Barrister Humyun Kabir Pallab stood for the petitioner while Additional Attorney General Murad Reza represented the state.
Speaking to Dhaka Tribune, Pallab said: “As the government has formed a probe committee to investigate the matter, HC has asked us to wait till submission of the report.”
Earlier on May 14, Pallab filed the writ petition with the High Court in an online hearing seeking its directives to investigate the JMI group's corruption over the distribution of N95 masks and take necessary action against the respondents.
The health secretary, principal secretary to the prime minister, chiefs of DGHS, IEDCR, CMSD and the managing director of the JMI group have been made the respondents to this writ.
The mask scam
March 30, was a good day for the frontline healthcare workers of Mugda General Hospital in Dhaka as they received 300 pieces of N95 masks and another 500 general masks from the government for treating coronavirus patients.
But, the joy soon turned to grief after hospital authorities found that although there were labels of N95 on boxes of 300 face masks, there were no N95 masks inside.
Lawmaker Saber Hossain Chowdhury, also president of the management committee of the hospital, in a letter to the Central Medical Stores Depot (CMSD) of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), brought the matter to attention.
CMSD, the government body which sources medical supplies, procured 20,600 face masks from JMI Hospitals Requisite Manufacturing Limited, which was later supplied to the hospitals.
However, it is far from clear how general masks can be labeled as N95 and get distributed to hospitals without anyone noticing it.
