Extortion, tender rigging and broker syndicates paralyse DMCH

Bangladesh’s largest and most critical public healthcare facility is no longer just a place of healing. It has become a battleground of extortion, tender manipulation, and organised broker syndicates that prey on patients, intimidate doctors, and paralyse medical services all while authorities turn a blind eye. Established in 1946 and serving thousands daily from across the country, Dhaka Medical College Hospital was meant to be a beacon of affordable, quality care. Instead, patients now face harassment, inflated diagnostic bills, and forced referrals while doctors are coerced into paying monthly “protection” fees under threat of humiliation. Behind it all: a shadowy network allegedly led by former student leaders, ex-doctors, and politically connected figures many tied to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s student...