41 hospital brokers fined, jailed in Dhaka, Gazipur
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Mobile courts today fined and jailed 41 brokers arrested from four hospitals in Dhaka and one in Gazipur for various crimes, including coercing patients to choose private hospitals.
In Dhaka, Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) raided four hospitals in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, arresting 38 brokers for persuading patients to opt for private hospitals.
The arrests were made by Rab-2, led by Executive Magistrates Abu Hasan and Mazharul Islam, who conducted the drives at Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital, National Heart Institute and Hospital, Dhaka Shishu Hospital, and National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation, between 10:30am and 12:30pm.
The arrestees were fined and jailed on different terms on the spot.
Rab-2 Deputy Commander Major Mohammad Nazmullahel Wadud said the brokers were diverting patients from government hospitals to clinics and private facilities, earning commissions in the process.
He said that the brokers start their work as soon as a patient arrive at government hospitals. They try to divert the patient to a private hospital falsely claiming that the government hospital's treatment are inadequate.
The Rab official said that another ring of brokers is active at government hospitals, who intercept patients outside doctors' rooms.
In Gazipur, a mobile court jailed three brokers for 20 days after they were arrested from Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Medical College Hospital in the district during a raid around 3:00pm.
The convicts are Fatema, Azufa, and Shantana, reports our Gazipur correspondent.
Assistant Commissioner of Gazipur District Commissioner's Office and Executive Magistrate Farzana Akhtar Labani told this correspondent that three people have been jailed for twenty days for obstructing government work and forcing patients from government hospitals to private clinics.
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