Radda MCH office demolished, looted in Mirpur

The office of Radda MCH, a non-governmental organisation in Mirpur, was demolished on late Thursday, with the organisation alleging that office equipment and vaccination supplies were also looted.

Radda Executive Director Nasrin Akhter filed a case with Shah Ali Police Station over the incident.

According to the organisation, the attack took place around midnight on Thursday at the Radda MCH-FP Centre in Mirpur-1, a healthcare facility that has provided free primary healthcare, maternity care and family planning services to poor and vulnerable mothers and children in the area for nearly five decades in partnership with the government.

During the attack, the entire facility, comprising one permanent and three semi-permanent buildings, was demolished using heavy machinery, according to the organisation.

The attackers allegedly held security guards hostage before vandalising the facility and looting a large quantity of office equipment and vaccination supplies.

They reportedly left after putting up a signboard reading “Sommanona Dokandar Samity Limited” in front of the property.

A businessman in Mirpur said there had been “problems” surrounding Radda’s 10-katha plot of land.

He alleged that the attack was carried out to seize the property under the leadership of local BNP leader Hanif Mia.

Hanif Mia has been named as an accused in the case filed over the incident.

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Officer-in-Charge of Shah Ali Police Station Jahangir Alam said the case names Hanif Mia and 200 to 250 unidentified people as accused.

The accused have been charged with unlawful entry, theft, issuing threats and causing property damage, according to the case.

In a statement sent to the media, Radda Executive Director Nasrin Akhter condemned the incident and demanded punishment for those responsible.

She described the incident as a “well-planned act of violence” rather than merely a robbery or attack.

“The centre has been reduced to rubble as a result of the attackers’ assault,” she said.

Nasrin alleged that more than 250 armed people, equipped with makeshift weapons, held the security guards hostage and carried out extensive vandalism and looting at the healthcare centre.

“This brutal attack destroyed property worth Tk 15 million and the centre’s long-running healthcare services have been completely shut,” she said.

Contacted about the allegation, Mirpur BNP leader Md Hanif Mia denied any involvement in the incident.

“I am not involved in this incident in any way. I don’t even know what happened there. Who put my name in the case?” he said.

He added that he would inquire about the matter at the police station.