As Sheikh Sohel Rana, a Bangladeshi national who had entered India illegally and who has been granted bail by courts in India, still remains “untraced,” the Mekhliganj Police Station in Coochbehar has inquired with the Superintendent of the SubDivisional Hospital at Mekhliganj about the man and has sought his
medical reports in detail.
Mr Rana is an “illegal entrant and immigration violator,” and has managed bail from the High Court and has allegedly fled the area by violating the High Court order, since 5 January. He had showcased “better medical treatment” back then, sources have said.
According to official sources, the Mekhliganj Police Station had registered case (No 267/2021 dated 4 September 2021 under Section 14A /14C of the Foreigners Act 1946 against Sohel Rana, a 44-year-old Bangladeshi resident, after the BSF intercepted and handed him over to the police.
According to police sources, the case was “charged-sheeted” and the accused was “convicted” by the ADJ Court in Mekhliganj on 23 February 2022.
Significantly, the accused person, who is learnt to have been suspended from Bangladesh police service and is still wanted in the neighbouring country for his alleged role in a massive financial scam of 1100 crore Taka, managed to get bail from the Circuit Bench of the Calcutta High Court in Jalpaiguri on 8 December 2022.
Asked to comment, Superintendent of the Mekhliganj Sub-Divisional Hospital Tapas Das said: “The OC, Mekhliganj police station, asked me over the phone about a patient named Sohel Rana and sought papers related to his treatment at the hospital. We have now provided the papers from hospital records to the police.” Dr Das further said: “Had we known about the track record of Sohel Rana, we would have informed the police. Had police accompanied him, the doctor who attended to Sohel Rana, would have taken proper steps. The
doctor treated him as a general patient like others.”
According to Hospital sources, Sohel Rana has been shown as a resident of Ward No 4 in the Mekhliganj Municipal area, and he had reported to the hospital at 3.50 pm on 5 January, and was discharged at 5.30 pm on the same
day.
Dr Koushik Manna attended to Mr Rana and referred him to a “higher centre” like the Jalpaiguri District Hospital)/any Medical College” as he was suffering from Acute MI (Myocardial Infraction) and other problems, the hospital records show.
Asked to comment, Dr Koushik Manna said: “I did not have information about the patient. I came to know of the matter only a few days ago, when the hospital super asked me about Sohel Rana, after the police sought reports on him.”
“I treated him like a general patient. He showed me some papers of his health problems and list of medicines he had been taking daily. As he was not well and this hospital is not well equipped for such a patient, I referred him to a higher centre,” Dr Manna said.
Notably, one of the bail conditions for Mr Rana was that he would have to report to the OC, Mekhliganj Police Station, once a week. Interestingly, legal consultants of Mr Rana decided to email the police late in the evening (8.12 pm) on the same day after he was discharged from the Mekhliganj Sub Divisional Hospital, mentioning his “serious medical condition” and him requiring to visit a higher medical centre for better treatment. The medical reports of tests done at the Mekhliganj Hospital were attached in the mail, it is learnt.
As Sohel Rana failed to report to the police as per the court order, the OC, Mekhliganj, Rahul Talukder, had recently informed a lower court of the matter. “Police are still clueless about Sohel Rana’s whereabouts,” a source said.
According to sources, the ADJ Court has recently directed the police that since the release order of Sohel Rana has not been issued from Mekhliganj, the matter should immediately be reported either to the Circuit Bench of the Calcutta High Court in Jalpaiguri or the CJM Coochbehar, as the case was subject to the satisfaction of the CJM, who has finally issued the bail order.
Notably, Mr Rana was released from the Berhampur Central Jail in December 2022, immediately after his release order was issued by the CJM Coochbehar. On the other hand, Nur Alam, one of the “sureties” of Sohel Rana, refused to comment on the matter today after regional media reported that central investigating officials asked him about Rana.
“My advocate Pradip Roy will speak on it,” Mr Alam told this correspondent today. Asked to comment, Mr Roy, who is the secretary of the Mekhliganj Bar Association, told this correspondent: “Why are you interested in it? The High Court has granted Sohel Rana’s bail plea. I am talking about the matter as the Bar Secretary. Someone has asked me to provide sureties for him. I introduced two Indians. What is wrong here as per the Indian law?”
“He can go anywhere for better treatment as it is a question of his life. As far as I know, Sohel Rana went to report to the police station in an ambulance. I do not have exact information on how the police handled the matter following the High Court order,” Mr Roy added.