Why suspended drug official still in his job

The High Court yesterday asked the government to explain how an official of the drug administration was carrying out his job even after a HC directive ordering his suspension.

Assistant Director Shafiqul Islam of the Directorate of Drug Administration was suspended for negligence in dealing with a case filed for manufacturing toxic Paracetamol that killed 28 children in 2009.

The director general of the Directorate of Drug Administration (DGDA) has been asked to give the explanation in seven days regarding the matter.

The HC bench of Justice Syed Muhammad Dastagir Husain and Justice Md Ataur Rahman Khan passed the order following a petition by Manzill Murshid on behalf of Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh.

During the hearing, Manzill Murshid told the court that the government suspended two officials of the drug administration, including Shafiqul Islam, in August in line with a HC order for their suspension for negligence and inefficiency in dealing with the case filed for manufacturing toxic Paracetamol.

Shafiqul applied to the Administration Appellate Tribunal-1 for staying his suspension, suppressing information of the HC directive. The tribunal stayed his suspension and then he joined the office, he said. 

Following the arguments, the HC yesterday halted the tribunal's order, issued a restriction on Shafiqul's employment and fixed October 26 for passing further order on this issue.

From June to August in 2009, at least 28 children across the country died of renal failure allegedly caused by Rid Pharma's paracetamol syrups.

On July 22 the same year, the DGDA sealed off Rid's factory in BSCIC area of Brahmanbaria following wide media coverage of the children's death and after the release of findings by the Dhaka Shishu (Children) Hospital physician Prof Mohammad Hanif concluding that Rid Pharma's Temset had toxic substance.

In August of 2009, Shafiqul Islam, the then superintendent of drug administration, filed the case with the Dhaka Drug Court against Rid Pharma.

In its judgment on November 28 last year, a Dhaka court acquitted all five, saying the prosecution utterly failed to prove the charges against them.

Two officials of the drug administration-- Shafiqul Islam and Altaf Hossain -- involved in the case knowingly violated due procedure of law and exhibited sheer negligence, inefficiency and incompetence in dealing with the case, the verdict had said.