Detectives conducted simultaneous drives in the capital’s Tejgaon area and Jhalakathi district on Tuesday and arrested three ‘fraudsters’ on charge of embezzling money in the name of  conducting Covid-19 test.

The arrestees are Abdullah Alamin Managing Director of TKS group, its chairman Abul Hasan Tushar and marketing manager Mohammad Shahin Mia.

Various types of fake documents including appointment letters, ID cards, visiting cards, tax certificates and computers were recovered from their possessions.

Briefing reporters at the DMP’s media centre here on Wednesday, Joint Commissioner of DB (North Division) Mohammad Harun Ur Rashid said the fraudsters formed an organisation named TKS Healthcare Service located on the 2nd floor at Al Razi Complex of Shaheed Sayed Nazrul Islam Sarani in Dhaka city.

Then they applied for permission to conduct  Covid-19 test to the Health Ministry on July 11.

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In their application, they mentioned that a total of 5,126 health workers are ready to conduct free Covid-19 tests in eight divisions, 64 districts, 492 upazilas and 4,562 unions of Bangladesh, he said.

He said as they knew that they would not get permission from the Health Ministry to set up booths, recruit people and set up camps they made fake documents for sample collection, recruitment and setting up of camps.

Using the fake documents, the fraudsters  embezzled money from people in the name of recruiting various persons as Upazila Co-coordinators and Field Officers of Dhaka and Jhalakathi districts, the DB (North Division) said.

They were trying to embezzle a total of Tk 2 crore in the name of giving dealership of each camp.

He also urged people to remain aware of fraudulence in the name of conducting Covid-19 test." If anyone sets up camp in the name of free Covid-19 test then inform police and police will take action.”

A case has been filed against the arrestees with Shahbagh police station.