Rid case not heard for complainant's negligence
Negligence of a government official was the reason for the sensational Rid Pharma case not being heard at a Dhaka Court yesterday.
The court had asked complainant Mohammad Shafiqul Islam, drug superintendent, to show up yesterday with the original documents related to the case. The official went to court with photocopies of the seizure list.
Special Public Prosecutor Mahmud Hossain Jahangir told The Daily Star that the court could not start the trial due to the negligence of the official.
Yesterday, Judge Mohammad Abdul Majid of the court did not record the statement of the complainant. He fixed July 3 for the next hearing and asked him again to show up with original copies of relevant documents.
The case was filed in August 2009 against five people of Rid Pharma in connection with using toxic diethylene glycol in manufacturing paracetamol syrup that caused deaths to 28 children the same year.
Accused Mizanur Rahman, managing director of Rid Pharma and his wife Sheuly Rahman, one of the directors of the company, are now out on bail. They appeared before the court yesterday.
Three other accused, Abdul Gani, a director of the company, and two pharmacists Mahbubul Islam and Enamul Haque, are still absconding.
On March 9, the court framed charges against the five in connection with manufacturing the adulterated syrup.
Four similar cases were filed against Adflame Pharmaceutical Ltd, Polychem Laboratories Ltd, BCI (Bangladesh) Ltd, and Rex Pharmaceutical in 1992. They too had allegedly used diethylene glycol in the manufacture of paracetamol syrups.
This claimed the lives of 2,700 children.
None of these companies have been brought to book.
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