A fraudster gang became active soon after news was published in various dailies of the country on March 4 about the irregular presence of consultants of the 100-bed Upazila Health Complex in Tungipara, Gopalganj.
There have been allegations of demanding a large sum of money from the hospital doctors by posing as an official of the Secretariat. It is learned that after the news was published, the hospital’s official in charge, Dr. Tanvir Ahmed, received a call from an unknown number. The caller introduced himself as an official of the Secretariat and said that news had been published against the hospital consultants and they would be transferred. At that time, he tactfully asked for the mobile numbers of the consultants concerned. The call came from the number 01339793874.
Shortly after, the members of the fraud ring called Dr. Shipra Nandi, the hospital’s junior consultant (gynecologist). The phone call said that a decision had been made to transfer him as a punishment and he would be transferred to Faridpur. However, it was said that the transfer order could be canceled if he paid five lakh taka. A Rocket Mobile Banking number 01320737213 was given to send the money. As the matter seemed suspicious, Dr. Tanvir Ahmed sought the help of the police. After checking the two numbers through the police, it was learned that they were registered in the name of a person named Mosammat Momtaz Begum, father Abdul Mannan. His permanent address is Rajbari Sadar and his current address is Savar Upazila.
Tungipara Upazila Health and Family Planning Officer Dr. Tanvir Ahmed said, “The issue of doctors demanding money by changing the name of the secretariat after the news was published is very worrying. As soon as we learned about the matter, we informed the law enforcement agencies. We hope that the fraudsters will be identified soon and brought to justice.” Questions have been raised in various quarters about the incident – how could the fraudsters collect information about the hospital’s doctors so quickly after the news was published and call them? It is believed that internal information from the hospital or the relevant administration may have somehow reached the fraudsters. Tungipara Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Ayub Ali said that they have come to know about this verbally, but if they receive a written complaint, they will investigate it quickly and take legal action.
Doctors say that such fraud by changing the name of a government department is worrying not only for doctors but also for the entire health sector. They demanded that those involved in this incident be quickly identified and brought to justice.