Application to File Case Against Dr. Yunus, 4 Others Dismissed

A Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) court has dismissed an application to file a case against Professor Dr. Muhammad Yunus, the Chief Adviser of the former interim government, former Health Adviser Nurjahan Begum, and three others over alleged negligence of duty and failure to import measles vaccines in a timely manner amid a national outbreak and child fatalities.

On Monday (June 8), Mujibur Rahman Iqbal, Member of Parliament for the Kishoreganj-5 constituency, submitted the application to the court of Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Jashita Islam. Following a hearing, the court rejected the plea.

Apart from Dr. Yunus and Nurjahan Begum, the other proposed accused in the case were former Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Md. Saidur Rahman, former Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser Professor Dr. Muhammad Sayedur Rahman, and former Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Professor Dr. Md. Abu Jafar.

According to official records, approximately 80,000 children have been treated at various hospitals across the country with measles symptoms or infections since March 15. More than 600 children have died during this period.

The case petition alleged that the measles outbreak escalated into an epidemic due to the defendants' extreme negligence, malicious intent, and corrupt practices, which resulted in a failure to vaccinate children. It further claimed that the accused were directly and indirectly responsible for the crisis, asserting they had committed fraud and breached the nation's trust.

The petitioner had requested the court to take the charges into cognizance and issue arrest warrants against the accused.