Covid-19 test scam: HC denies bail to Dr Sabrina
The court rejected the bail petition, citing that it was not properly presented.
The High Court has denied bail to JKG Healthcare Chairperson Dr Sabrina Sharmin Hussain in a fraud case filed over the issuance of falsified Covid-19 test reports.
The bench of Justices Sheikh Md Zakir Hossain and K M Zahid Sarwar rejected the bail petition on Tuesday, citing that it was not properly presented.
Lawyer Syed Mamun Mahbub moved for Dr Sabrina, while Deputy Attorney General M Monirul Islam represented the state.
Testimonies of witnesses are currently being taken in the Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Court. The court has completed recording the testimonies of 13 of its 43 state witnesses. The next hearing for recording testimonies will be held on 6 January.
On 20 August, a Dhaka court framed charges against eight people, including JKG Health Care Chairman Dr Sabrina.
The other accused are Dr Sabrina's husband JKG Chief Executive Officer Ariful Haque Chowdhury; his associate Saeed Chowdhury; Humayun Kabir and his wife Tanzina Patwari; Executive Officer Shafiqul Islam; proprietor of the company's trade license Jebunnesa Rima, Biplab Das and Mamunur Rashid.
On 5 August, the detective branch of police filed the charge sheet against the eight accused in the Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate's Court.
The charge sheet mentions Sabrina and Arif as ringleaders of the case, with the rest helping them to commit fraud and forgery.
On 15 June, a man by the name of Kamal Hossain filed the case with Tejgaon Police Station, charging the individuals with issuing falsified reports of coronavirus tests.
JKG Healthcare issued reports to 27,000 people in different parts of the country, including Dhaka, without collecting samples for coronavirus tests.
Most of the reports have been found to be fake. The company was raided on June 23 and sealed off. A case was later filed against them with Tejgaon Police Station.
