The Directorate General of Drug Administration has started a case against Awami League leader Aminul Islam charging him with using forged documents to import KN95 masks.
Aminul, the deputy publicity secretary of the ruling party, has denied any responsibility saying he let another person named Tajul Islam use the import licence of his firm Elan Corporation.
The police also initiated a case against Tajul and his chauffeur under the Special Powers Act, Tejgaon Industrial Zone police chief Mohammad Ali said on Sunday, bdnews24.com reported.
Fakhrul Islam, an assistant director of the DGDA, initiated the case against Aminul with Banani police on May 29.
The DGDA officer told bdnews24.com that they had given Elan permission to import 50,000 masks as they could not find out the “forgery” in an initial check because Elan had submitted many papers.
Some documents were found to be “fake” in a second check on a tip-off, Fakhrul said.
The directorate cancelled the permission but after the company had imported the masks.
Fakhrul could not say anything about the quality of the masks, which are crucial for protection from the novel coronavirus amid a pandemic.
Sudip Kumar Chakraborty, a deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said the case would be transferred to the police’s Criminal Investigation Department in a couple of days.
Aminul said he had heard about the case. He is from Chattogram’s Satkania.
He said he gave Tajul, an acquaintance from Old Dhaka’s Hazaribagh, written permission to use the import licence on Mar 25.
The document states the condition that Tajul will bear the responsibilities for everything he does using the permission, Aminul said.
Tajul could not be reached for comment.
