[ The prisoners are passing days amid subhumanconditions as its already crowded cells are being overcrowded day by day for large scale arrests ]
Chittagong: The Chittagong central jail is now crowded with three times higher number of prisoners than its actual capacity. According to an account of the current week, there are now 4,860 prisoners occupying the prison with accommodation capacity of total 1700. Sources said the prisoners in the central jail are passing days amid subhuman conditions as its already crowded cells are being overcrowded day by day following the large scale arrests in the wake of the country’s ongoing political unrest.
As a result, dissatisfaction is prevailing among the existing prisoners here recently for absence of a proper management to arrange accommodation for the additional number of detainees to ease their sufferings. At present, there are a large number of prisoners in the central jail, who include VIP detainees like BNP leader and Former State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Mir Mohammed Nasir Uddin, central BNP leader and former ambassador Golam Akber Khondakhar and many other political bigwigs. As the lower courts remained closed during the whole month of December for holiday, A good number of people arrested over violence during the ongoing political unrest are failing to obtain bail from the lower courts, which blocks the way to ease the detainees’ pressure in the jail with their release. Besides, the High Court is also on winter vacation now impeding the way for many political and VIP prisoners to appeal for bail.
So the number of people getting release remains far lower than that of those landing in jail. Sources said Chittagong Metropolitan Police and district police in normal time arrest several hundred people on various criminal charges every day. Besides, the number of arrestees has marked a rise during the current political agitation by the opposition. Mohammed Sagir Meah, jail super of the Chittagong central jail, said, “There are now three times more prisoners in the jail than the normal. It is true that the bail obtaining rate of the prisoners has decreased in the last 26/27 days. Consequently, the pressure of inmates in the prison has increased.”
Advocate Abul Hashem, Public Prosecutor of Chittagong, said, “As the High Court remains closed for the winter vacation now and the activities of the lower courts are being disrupted due to political agitation programmes, the prisoners cannot appeal for bail unlike in the normal times.” “So, the pressure of detainees in the jail is increasing rather than easing now. It will become normal after opening of the courts again,” he added. According to the sources, the overcrowding of prisoners has resulted in a suffocating environment here for which the detainees are getting infected with various diseases. Moreover, many of the prisoners are not getting proper medical treatment. On the other hand, a large number of prisoners are reportedly being infected with various diseases for taking drugs.
-With The Independent input
