Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Tuesday said that it is unexpected that 17 files have gone missing from the health ministry and an investigation is going on to unearth the matter.

“We’re enraged at the incident. Legal steps have been taken and police are already investigating the matter. Further steps will be taken in this regard upon receiving the investigation report,” he said while talking to reporters after attending an event at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University.

Seventeen files of the Health Ministry have gone missing from its Health, Education and Family Welfare Division and it came to light on October 27. A general diary (GD) was registered with Shagbagh Police Station in this connection the following day.

Read: Missing Files: 3 more Health Ministry officials taken into custody

On October 30, the Health Ministry formed a three-member body to probe the incident.

The probe body was constituted with Shah Alam, additional secretary (administration) of Health, Education and Family Welfare division, as its head, said Shahadat Hossain, additional secretary to Health, Education and Family Welfare Division.

Meanwhile, members of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) took three more ministry staff into their custody on Tuesday for interrogation, Additional SP of the CID media wing Azad Rahman told UNB.

Read: Files missing from Health Ministry: Man held in Rajshahi

Earlier on Sunday, he said, six staff of the same ministry were taken into CID custody for interrogation. They also detained Nasimul Goni Toton, a contractor of Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital from Keshabpur in Rajshahi city on Monday night.

Ministers put onus on SANDHANI to increase eye donations  

Health Minister Zahid Maleque chaired a seminar arranged by SANDHANI National Eye Donation Society on National Voluntary Blood Donation and Posthumous Eye Donation Day, that fell on November 2.

Education Minister Dipu Moni inaugurated the donation program.

The health minister said, posthumous eye donation can give sight to many legally blinds people, of which there should be greater awareness.

“We will have to make eye donation as spontaneous as blood donation in the country. SANDHANI can play a key role in it,” he said.

Dipu Moni said, “We still receive most of the eyes from unclaimed dead bodies. Posthumous eye donors are mostly youths.”

She put the onus on SANDHANI  to enlist donors.

“SANDHANI will need to campaign for eye donation as they successfully did for the blood donation,” said the education minister, who before entering politics devoted her career to public health activism.