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Published : 05 Jul 2026, 01:11 PM
A petition has been filed to lodge a case against four people, including interim government chief advisor Muhammad Yunus and its health advisor Nurjahan Begum, on charges of negligence in the deaths of more than 600 children due to the decision not to purchase measles vaccines.
Sirajul Islam, the father of 9-month-old Sauda Nuskan, who died from measles, filed the plea in the court of Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Jashita Islam on Sunday.
The plaintiff's lawyer, Taslima Jahan Poppy, said that the court has recorded the plaintiff's statement and has kept the decision pending.
In addition to Yunus and Nurjahan, former Director General of Health Services Professor Dr Md Abu Jafor and former press secretary to the chief advisor Shafiqul Alam have also been requested to be named as suspects.
The case petition states that in late February and early March, 9-month-old Sauda Muskan of Shariatpur Sadar suddenly developed a severe fever. The infant was admitted to Dhaka Medical College in the first week of March as local treatment did not improve her condition. From there, the child was transferred to the Infectious Diseases Hospital, Mohakhali on Mar 22 without receiving the necessary assistance for measles treatment.
The petition also alleges lack of cooperation and negligence in treatment against the doctors and nurses there, and states that the plaintiff's wife was handed an oxygen cylinder on Mar 26 and asked her to put the mask on the child's face. However, when the child's mother failed, the doctor on duty made the sweeper put the mask on. The child died a couple of hours later.
The petition in the case states that, due to the lack of timely supply of vaccines to children, failures to take proper measures by the hospital authorities, and the “gross negligence: of the interim government in purchasing and administering vaccines, more than 600 children have died in the country, including Sauda.
The petition states that the defendants cannot, in any way, avoid responsibility for these deaths.
Courts in Dhaka had previously dismissed several cases against Yunus and Nurjahan on similar charges.
