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928 inmates still at large
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guards and immigrations police, according to sources in law enforcement.
Inspector General of Prisons Brig Gen Syed Muhammad Motahar Hussain said most inmates who fled had cashed in on a chaotic situation during the uprising that toppled Sheik Hasina’s government on August 5.
He said many convicts learnt about the fall of the government from different sources, including BTV news bulletins.
“Prisoners are still saying that the country has achieved independence. They are arguing that after the independence in 1971, prisoners were freed, then why they are not being freed now,” Motahar told The Daily Star.
He said the prison breaks happened due to poor structures and the jail officials failing to see the revolt coming.
“We have learnt our lesson and have taken steps so that such incidents never recur ... Steps have also been taken to arrest the absconding convicts,” said the IG prisons, who took charge on August 11.
According to jail officials, 826 prisoners, including nine militants, fled from the Narsingdi district jail after the prison’s main gate was set on fire during clashes between police and people on July 19, over two weeks before Hasina fled to India.
Until Sunday, 622 of them, including three militants, either surrendered or have been arrested.
After the fall of the Hasina-led government, 1,415 inmates fled from the Kashimpur High-Security Jail; and Satkhira, Kushtia, and Sherpur jails following demonstrations by some inmates and attack by their cohorts and relatives from the outside, sources said.
At least 200 out of the 203 prisoners who escaped from Kashimpur High-Security Jail are still to be found, said its Jailer Lutfur Rahman.
Of those who fled from Satkhira, Kushtia, and Sherpur jails, 689 either surrendered or were arrested. The authorities do not know where the remaining 523 are.
Hasna Jahan Bithi, jailer of the Satkhira jail, told this newspaper that around 73, including condemned prisoners, are traceless.
Mohammad Humayun Kabir Khan, superintendent of Sherpur jail, said at least 106 of the 518 that fled from the prison surrendered later to Mymensingh and Jamalpur jails.
He said 91 inmates who surrendered later got bail.
Of the 88 escaped condemned convicts, Rab has so far arrested four.
Lt Col Md Munim Ferdous, director of the legal and media wing of Rab headquarters, told The Daily Star, “We have increased vigilance and are conducting joint drives. Our main focus is to recover illegal and stolen firearms, but we are also giving priority to finding escaped inmates.”
Tawohidul Haque, associate professor at Dhaka University’s Institute of Social Welfare and Research, said, “The inmates, who surrendered so far, are wanted for petty crimes. Most of the dangerous criminals, including those condemned, are still on the run.
“These criminals may try to reorganise or link up with gangs again. It’s a security threat for the society. They need to be arrested as soon as possible,” he opined.
[Our correspondents in Gazipur, Mymensingh, and Kushtia contributed to this report.]