Special Correspondent

Health Secretary Md. Kamruzzaman Chowdhury has allegedly grown reckless following his one-year contract-based appointment to the post.

Critics claim that after enduring 17 years without a high-ranking posting, he has become consumed by financial hunger, completely bypassing the minister and state minister.

While the health sector was notably mired in massive corruption during the previous fascist regime—particularly under former health ministers Mohammed Nasim and Dr. AFM Ruhal Haque—the current democratically elected BNP government under Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has declared a strict zero-tolerance policy against corruption right upon taking office. However, citizens and observers note that this policy is being severely obstructed by certain contract-based bureaucrats whose corruption has allegedly doubled, exploited by beneficiary contractors and business syndicates from the past regime.

According to complaint sources, several officials who served as executive magistrates and allegedly issued shooting orders during the July 2024 student-led uprising are currently posted in the Ministry of Health and are operating as close confidants of the Secretary. Deputy Secretary Sujit Debnath, previously known as a Chhatra League cadre during his student life and an executive magistrate who ordered shootings in Dhaka during the July movement, has been assigned to Administration Section -1 and designated as an alternative PS handling the Secretary's confidential work.

 
Deputy Secretary Snehasish, another executive magistrate accused of issuing shooting orders in Dhaka, has been placed in charge of Health Branch-4. Senior Assistant Secretary Khandakar Rabiul Islam, similarly accused of issuing shooting orders during the movement, has been given charge of Administration-2 and Administration-4 branches.

These critical administrative allocations were reportedly made through the Secretary's unilateral decisions, without consultation with the minister, state minister, or the Prime Minister's special assistant.

Despite projecting himself as a pro-BNP figure and a "July comrade," Secretary Kamruzzaman is accused of empowering former fascist associates and compromised officials to amass vast sums of money through vulnerability exploitation. Furthermore, officials who served as Deputy Commissioners (DCs) in Bogura, Bagerhat, Cox's Bazar, and Rangpur, or as PS to former LGRD Minister Tajul Islam during the Awami League administration, have allegedly been given prominent responsibilities, turning the Ministry into a safe haven for former regime loyalists.

According to the rules of delegation of financial power, procurement and payment files under the ministry's jurisdiction should be approved at the minister's level; however, Secretary Kamruzzaman is reportedly approving many files unilaterally. Files are allegedly delayed to extort heavy bribes for physician transfers, bill approvals, and tender processing.

A glaring example involves the Rajshahi Medical College University Project (Package-2). Although Wahid Construction was the first lowest bidder, and other bidders like NDE and Spectra Engineering faced technical and bank guarantee issues, the fourth-lowest bidder, Majid & Sons (allegedly submitting problematic Chinese papers with forged signatures of the actual owner), has reportedly been favored, with its file kept stalled by the Secretary for four months to grant illegal favor.

In the health sector, a powerful contractor named Aftab Ahmed—owner of the firm HTMS with offices near the Abahani field in Dhaka and native to Faridpur—reportedly maintains deep influence across successive governments. Formerly a partner of Sheikh Hasina's son-in-law, Aftab allegedly gifted the Health Secretary a Euro-denominated luxury item valued at BDT 3 million on his very first day in office.

Aftab's history includes being a former junior officer who jumped ship during a seminar in Japan, resulting in job termination before he transitioned into business. Under previous ministers such as Ruhal Haque, Mohammed Nasim, and Zahid Medecin, and now allegedly under Secretary Kamruzzaman, Aftab's syndicate continues to operate.

Sources claim Aftab frequently entertains officials and controls lucrative procurement, pointing to past incidents where he allegedly siphoned BDT 180 million from the Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital through Dr. Uttam Barua without executing actual work—a scam previously exposed in daily newspapers that led to blacklisting of those licenses. Aftab's office remains a frequent destination for the current Health Secretary, serving as a primary channel for financial transactions.

Allegations indicate that transfers and promotions of physicians routinely cost between BDT 500,000 to 1,000,000, and sometimes up to 2,000,000, with uncooperative files being intentionally delayed. For contractor bills—particularly in CMSD and other procurement bodies—a 2% to 5% commission is allegedly demanded. The Secretary's personal secretary (PS), Nazmus Sakib (who previously served as First Secretary at the Bangladesh Embassy in London during the previous regime), is accused of acting as a key accomplice in these operations.

Files frequently sit unsigned on the Secretary's desk for 10 to 30 days, and directives from the minister or state minister for discussion are allegedly ignored or dismissed.

Observers state that the Health Secretary is running the ministry single-handedly, undermining the current government's push for transparency, administrative dynamism, and reform, while turning the Health Ministry back into an alleged stronghold of corruption.

He was not available for comments on the allegations.