Published: 12:04 AM, 27 September 2026
Terror Attack on Healthcare Center in Mirpur Condemned
The Democratic Rights Committee (Gonotantrik Odhikar Committee) has strongly condemned and protested the brutal demolition, looting and destruction of government vaccines and medical supplies at the private health center Radda MCH-FP Center in Mirpur, Dhaka. The committee said that at a time when children are dying one after another from measles infections across the country and the dengue situation has taken on the proportions of a severe epidemic, destroying one of the important centers of the government's Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) is not merely an attack on a building. Rather, it is a terrorist attack on the entire public health system and on the right of ordinary people to survive.
The Democratic Rights Committee made these remarks in a statement issued on Saturday. On behalf of the committee, member Sajib Tanvir and Rafiquzzaman Farid sent the statement to the media under the title, "Strong Condemnation and Outrage Over the Vandalism and Looting of Radda Clinic in Mirpur Amid Measles and Dengue Epidemics: Terror on the Health System and Land Grabbing in the Presence of Police!"
According to the statement, at around midnight last Thursday, more than 200 masked individuals armed with locally made weapons attacked the health center in Mirpur. The attackers allegedly held the security guards hostage, tied their hands and feet, and looted valuable medical equipment, medicines, vaccines, and cash. They later used heavy machinery to demolish the entire facility, including one permanent building and three semi-permanent structures.
The attack was allegedly carried out under the banner of an organization called the "Somomona Dokandar Samabaya Samity Limited" (Like-Minded Shopkeepers Cooperative Society Limited). Nasrin Akhter, executive director of the institution, said that the damage exceeded Tk 10 million. She subsequently filed a case at Shah Ali Police Station. Police have so far arrested four people in connection with the case.
The Democratic Rights Committee said in its statement that despite the presence of police at the scene, an armed group of 200 to 250 people was able to vandalize the premises for an extended period without obstruction. The attackers allegedly looted goods worth Tk 15 million, including a generator and an ultrasonography machine, and destroyed government vaccination records and vaccines, including measles vaccines.
The statement further alleged that the name of local BNP leader Hanif Mia had emerged in connection with the incident and that a signboard bearing the name of the "Sommona Dokandar Samity" had been put up at the site. According to the committee, these developments indicate that the incident was a premeditated campaign of land grabbing carried out under political protection.
The committee described the fact that the alleged takeover was carried out in the presence of law enforcement personnel as particularly alarming, calling it an extremely dangerous example of weaknesses in the country's security structure and a culture of impunity.
The statement said, "When ordinary low-income people and children are suffering from epidemics and infectious diseases due to inadequate access to medical treatment, the destruction of a health-care center in the interests of mafias, land grabbers, and politically privileged groups cannot be accepted in any civilized society or democratic state."
The committee further stated, "The Democratic Rights Committee makes it clear that we will resist any attack on the people's right to health and medical care." It called on all conscientious members of society to build a strong movement demanding the immediate prosecution of those involved in the alleged land grabbing and the reconstruction of the health center.
The Democratic Rights Committee presented four demands in its statement.
First, it demanded the immediate arrest of BNP leader Hanif Mia, who was named in the first information report (FIR), along with the alleged masterminds, financiers, and participants in the attack and looting, and called for their trial to be completed as quickly as possible.
Second, it demanded departmental and legal action against the officer-in-charge of Shah Ali Police Station and other police personnel deemed responsible for allegedly remaining inactive despite being present at the scene and allowing the attackers to carry out the destruction and looting.
Third, it demanded the immediate recovery of the 10-katha plot of land allegedly occupied by the attackers and the rapid reconstruction of Radda Clinic using government and institutional funds. It also called for the replacement of the destroyed vaccines and medical equipment so that health-care services for poor mothers and children could resume as soon as possible.
Fourth, the committee demanded an end, once and for all, to the practice of taking over public and private service institutions through land grabbing and mafia-style activities by exploiting political and social identities.
The incident has raised broader concerns about the protection of health-care institutions and the security of essential public-health infrastructure. The destruction of vaccination facilities and medical equipment could have consequences beyond the immediate financial loss, particularly at a time when infectious diseases are placing additional pressure on the country's health system.
The committee's allegations regarding the role of political figures and police personnel remain matters for investigation and legal determination. The arrests made so far and the case filed at Shah Ali Police Station are expected to form part of the ongoing investigation into the occurrence.
