Corona Daily 386: The Man in the Burqa

Ichamati is a trans-border river flowing through India and Bangladesh. The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) is Bangladesh’s elite anti-terror/anti-crime unit. At 4 am on 15 July, several armed RAB men lay hidden and watching on the Ichamati’s bank. This was one of several porous points where smugglers ferry citizens fleeing to India. Kolkata is merely 80 km from here. Today was the ninth day of a nationwide manhunt.

At 5 am, a smart army man with night-vision binoculars spotted a black burqa. The Afghani burqa covers everything, including the face. The woman in the burqa looked stout, her walk indelicate. And she walked alone. Four RAB men quickly surrounded her, guns loaded and aimed. The voice gave it away. The removal of burqa revealed a mustachioed man wearing a helmet and bullet-proof vest, carrying a loaded revolver.  

Shahed Karim alias Mahammad Shahed, age 42, is the chairman of two hospitals in Dhaka. His impressive visiting card says he is the chairman of eleven business organizations, editor of a daily newspaper, and on the ruling Awami League’s international affairs committee.

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On 7 July, Italy suspended flights from Bangladesh. The day before, several passengers on Biman (the Bangladeshi airline) had tested positive upon arrival in Rome. Four days later 377 of them were deported and the Italian authorities banned Bangladeshis from entering Italy until 5 October. More than 100,000 Bangladeshis work in Italy, a lot of them concentrated in Lazio, a region near Rome. Italy has started conducting mandatory testing for all 30,000 Bangladeshis in Lazio.

Japan and South Korea also suspended all flights from Bangladesh with immediate effect.

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Shahed Karim, chairman of the two Regent Hospitals in Dhaka, has been working tirelessly since March. On one hand, he agreed with the government to provide free testing and care. On the other, he charged TK 4000-TK 8000 ($50-$100) per test.

Many workplaces require a fresh test certificate for a worker to rejoin. Readymade garment factories require all employees to carry a negative certificate. Last year, a large community of 12 million Bangladeshis working abroad had sent back $19 billion. Many of them trapped in Bangladesh were itching to go back. They needed test certificates before travelling abroad.

Surprisingly, there is also a small market for “positive” certificates. That includes the poorest, keen to get into government quarantine to enjoy free meals for two weeks. Also some “essential” servicemen who need an official document to not work.

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Shahed Karim satisfied everyone, and speedily. His hospitals took swabs of 10,500 people. Of those, at least 6300 were given reports without any tests. Graphic designers and IT experts formed part of his team. They scanned and forged the genuine certificates. Shahed targeted long queues, and also gave ads on social media. His customers were happy at the quick service, and a quick negative report. At the Rome airport, many Bangladeshis who tested positive were carrying those negative certificates given by Shahed Karim’s hospital.

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Shahed Karim is not the only one. Dr Sabrina Husain, a government cardiac surgeon, and chairman of JKG health, and her husband were arrested on 12 July. More than 2000 fake certificates were found in their computers.

In a population of 165 million, Bangladesh has 202,000 cases so far. After arresting the criminal syndicates, the country will need to refresh the scoreboard.

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Ravi