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Published : 06 Apr 2026, 06:50 PM
A lawyer has requested the government to impose a travel ban and an investigation into Muhammad Yunus and all advisors of the former interim government, alleging that their move to “privatise” the measles vaccination campaign led to the ongoing deadly outbreak.
Supreme Court lawyer M Ashraful Islam sent the notice via registered post on Monday to the secretaries of cabinet, health, and home, among others.
The lawyer claims the shift from a state-led programme to private sector dependency was an “evil and criminal” act that resulted in the deaths of over a hundred children from measles.
“The vaccination system for diseases like measles has been deliberately moved from the state level to the private sector. This situation has been created due to such criminal activities,” the notice said.
The lawyer requested that the authorities prevent Yunus, Asif Nazrul, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Adilur Rahman Khan, Nurjahan Begum, M Sakhawat Hussain, Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, and all other former advisors from leaving the country until a thorough investigation is completed.
The notice also includes former Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam and all relevant personal assistants.
Explaining why he approached the executive branch instead of the court, Ashraful told bdnews24.com: "Imposing a travel ban is primarily the job of the executive department. They should take the first step to ensure those involved in this system cannot flee the country."
He specifically cited the departure of former special assistant Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb as a reason for the urgency.
The notice alleges that the previous administration intentionally halted the traditional door-to-door vaccination programme to benefit private hospitals and businesses.
"Earlier, measles vaccines were administered door-to-door. This has been stopped deliberately to force people to buy vaccines from private hospitals for commercial profit," Ashraful claimed.
The lawyer has given the government five days to form an investigation committee and impose the travel ban.
"If they fail to take action within this period, we will file a writ petition in court as the second step. The final step will be the people," he warned.
The move comes amid reports of a severe measles outbreak across the country, with hospitals in districts like Sylhet reporting a surge in symptomatic patients and fatalities among infants.
