The Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has officially pressed charges against Regent Hospital owner Mohammad Shahed, alias Shahed Karim, in a case filed under Arms Act with Uttara police station.
After completing its investigation into the charges against Shahed, the DB submitted the charge sheet to Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s (CMM) Court on Thursday.
Sub-Inspector Md Jalal Uddin, general recording officer at Dhaka CMM Court, confirmed the matter to Dhaka Tribune.
DB Inspector Syrul Islam, who is the investigation officer of the case, said 14 people had been named in the charge sheet as prosecution witnesses, including the complainant.
Earlier on July 19, the DB conducted a special drive with Shahed in Dhaka’s Uttara area, where they recovered a pistol, a bullet, a magazine, 10 bottles of phensedyl, and five bottles of liquor from an abandoned car on Sonargaon Janapath Road in Uttara, said DB Additional Commissioner Abdul Baten.
Later, the detectives filed two cases with Uttara West police station under Narcotics Control Act and Arms Act, he added.
The investigation of the arms case against Shahed is complete. Two witnesses in the case have given statements before the court under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
All the evidences are mentioned in the charge sheet and the docket, said Abdul Baten.
Police will now submit the charge sheet before the court, he added.
No ballistic test required
When asked that if the weapon was used anywhere, the DB additional commissioner said: “We have not received any such information yet. It is a criminal offence to have arms in possession, whether it is used or not.
“As we do not have any information on the weapon being used and also did not recover any empty bullet shell, there is no need of a ballistic test,” he added.
Although the official did not give a clear idea of where the weapon came from, Abdul Baten said: “We have received all the information and evidences required to ensure punishment in such cases.”
On July 15, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested an armed Shahed on the bank of Labangaboti canal in Komarpur village under Satkhira's Debhata upazila around 5am, while he was trying to flee across the border to India.
Shahed went into hiding since RAB conducted drives at the Uttara and Mirpur branches of the Regent Hospital. Accused in dozens of cases, Shahed had been wandering around under the nose of police for a long time.
On July 6, RAB raided the branches of the hospital on complaints that the hospital was issuing fake Covid-19 certificates, as well as charging exorbitant fees for Covid-19 testing and treatment of patients.
The battalion also found evidence of at least 6,000 fake Covid-19 test certificates during the raid.
The next day, RAB filed a case against 17 people, including Shahed, with Uttara West police station.
