Bangladesh police arrest four over Mirpur health center attack
Bangladesh police have arrested four people over an overnight attack, looting and demolition of the Radda MCH-FP Center in Dhaka’s Mirpur.
DHAKA, Sept 26 — Police in Bangladesh have arrested four people over an attack on a health center in the capital’s Mirpur area in which security guards were allegedly held hostage before the facility was looted and demolished.
The four men — Mohammad Sohel, 22, Mohammad Jewel, 23, Jihad Hasan, 21, and Mohammad Rabbi, 20 — were arrested during a police operation on Friday night, Shah Ali police station chief Jahangir Alam said on Saturday.
The suspects admitted to taking part in the attack, Alam said. They were sent to court, while police were continuing to search for others allegedly involved.
Police and local sources said three of the suspects were people living around the Shah Ali shrine area without permanent shelter and had allegedly been paid to participate in the vandalism.
The incident took place around midnight on Thursday at the Radda MCH-FP Center in Mirpur-1. More than 200 masked people allegedly entered the premises carrying locally made weapons and held two security guards hostage, according to the account provided by the police and the center.
The attackers allegedly took medical equipment, medicines, vaccines, cash and other belongings before heavy machinery was used to demolish the facility.
The demolition destroyed one permanent building and three semi-permanent structures, according to the center.
The center’s executive director, Nasrin Akhter, said a case had been filed with Shah Ali police station but that the center had not yet received a copy of the complaint.
The Radda MCH-FP Center began operating in Mirpur in 1974 to provide maternal and child healthcare to disadvantaged and low-income communities. Its services included childhood vaccinations, child healthcare, reproductive health and family planning.
