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Mohammad Shahed, the controversial chairman of Regent Hospital who was jailed over fraud involving fake COVID-19 test reports, has been arrested again.
Shahed was detained from the ECB Chattar area in Mirpur on Monday afternoon, confirmed Pallabi Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Hasan Basir.
The OC said Shahed was wanted in connection with a pending court warrant in a criminal case. He was initially detained by Cantonment Police following a request from Pallabi Police.
“We are on our way to bring him into our custody. We will be able to provide further details once he is with us,” the OC said.
Shahed was released on bail on September 4 last year, about a month after the July-August mass uprising, after securing bail in all 35 cases filed against him, including charges of fraud and acquiring wealth beyond known sources of income. His release came after nearly four years in prison.
Shahed first came into the national spotlight during the COVID-19 pandemic. On July 7, 2020, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) raided Regent Hospital in Uttara and recovered fake COVID-19 test certificates.
RAB subsequently filed a case against Shahed and 17 others at Uttara West Police Station over the forgery.
Nine days later, on July 15, 2020, RAB arrested Shahed near the Satkhira border. A subsequent raid in Uttara led to the recovery of illegal firearms.
He later faced multiple cases on charges of fraud, forgery and other offences. On September 28, 2020, a court sentenced him to life imprisonment in an arms case.
On August 21, 2023, another court sentenced him to three years in prison for amassing wealth beyond known sources of income. Earlier, in 2010, he was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment in a cheque fraud case.
Among the 35 cases against him is one under the Money Laundering Prevention Act. According to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Shahed allegedly embezzled more than Tk 110 million by defrauding people.