A law related to the drug policy prepared by Dr. Zafarullah Chowdhary was enacted and all multinationals went out of their way to thwart it. Writer and journalist Kazi Jawad wrote, “The drug was raided. I left him (Zafrullah Chowdhry) back at Savar several nights in a row.”
In the case of Siraj Sikdar, he was “raised in a different way”. The days were not as dark as the nights that followed them. At the behest of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, he was “taken back from where he was picked up.” There was a time when his car regularly collided with trucks. Her skilful and reliable driver Mustafa Bhai, who accompanied her in the beginning, and later Saleha Apa, the first licensed professional female driver, have fond memories of those horrific events.
Several allegations and charges were leveled against Zafarullah Chowdhury over the years. He was accused of treason, contempt of court, fish theft, flower theft, extortion, assault, land grabbing and more. For years he was constantly harassed, the allegations led to cases, cross-examinations, hearings and more. The court showed its leniency by awarding him one hour’s jail term and a small fine.
But in reality no one wanted to understand Zafrullah Chowdhary, no one understood him.
The magistrate, who was supposed to confiscate the adulterated food, raided the poor’s medical center – Gonoshasthya Hospital and Pharmaceuticals – and imposed a fine on it. This news was continuously broadcast on television without giving him any chance to defend himself. The Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA) revoked Dr Zafarullah’s membership and the Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council (BMDC) considered revoking his registration at least twice.