Abdullah Al Mohsin Chowdhury
Bangladesh defence secretary Abdullah Al Mohsin Chowdhury died of coronavirus-related complications on Monday at a military hospital. He was 57 and is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.
Chowdhury was admitted to Dhaka's Combined Military Hospital on June 2 after he was tested positive for the coronavirus infection.
Later, he was moved to the intensive care unit and was administered plasma therapy after his condition deteriorated, the bdnews24.com reported.
According to Md Bhasani Mirza, an administrative officer at the defence ministry, Chowdhury died after suffering a cardiac arrest during his treatment at the hospital, the Dhaka Tribune reported.
Chowdhury's death came 15 days after State Minister for Religious Affairs Sheikh Abdullah died of a heart attack on June 13 in the same hospital. Abdullah's COVID-19 test result came back positive after his death.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed profound shock and sorrow at the demise of Chowdhury.
In a message of condolence, Hasina prayed for eternal peace of the departed soul and expressed deep sympathy to the bereaved family.
Born in Cumilla in 1963, Chowdhury did his post-graduation in Soil Science from Dhaka University. Later, he did his post-graduation in Governance Studies from the Northern University in Dhaka.
He served the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Industries, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and the Prime Minister's Office in different capacities.
He was the secretary to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change before his stint at the defence ministry.
Bangladesh has so far recorded 1,41,801 coronavirus cases and 1,783 fatalities due to the disease.
