A Dhaka court on Sunday dismissed a petition seeking to file a case against former interim government chief adviser Muhammad Yunus, former health adviser Nurjahan Begum and two others over alleged negligence linked to the measles outbreak and child deaths.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Joshita Islam rejected the petition, saying there were no sufficient grounds to take cognisance of the case.
Court Bench Assistant Ashikur Rahman confirmed the order, saying the petition was dismissed under Section 203 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
The petition was filed on 5 July by Sirajul Islam before the court.
After recording the complainant’s statement, the court had kept the order pending and fixed Sunday for delivering its decision.
The other individuals named in the petition were former Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Md Abu Jafar, and former press secretary to the chief adviser Shafiqul Alam.
In the petition, Sirajul alleged that his nine-month-old daughter, Sauda Muskan, died after contracting measles due to alleged failures in healthcare services and vaccination management.
He claimed that the child was admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital after developing fever, but her condition worsened due to alleged shortages of hospital beds, oxygen supply, and inadequate medical care.
The complainant further alleged that his daughter could not receive the measles vaccine because of a shortage of vaccines and later died after becoming infected.
The petition accused the interim government, the health adviser and relevant officials of failing to ensure proper procurement, distribution and implementation of the measles vaccination programme.
It also alleged that the failure contributed to hundreds of child deaths from measles and left thousands of children undergoing treatment nationwide.
The petition further alleged that the accused had failed to uphold the state’s constitutional obligation to safeguard public health and life, misused their authority, and neglected their legal responsibilities.
