Bogura jailbreak: 'Prison guard was chatting, chief warden was elsewhere'

The negligence of on-duty prison staff had paved the way for four death-row convicts to flee from the condemned cell of Bogura district jail in the wee hours of Wednesday, according to officials of the jail.

Besides, the local administration and the jail authorities observed that the loopholes in the security of the prison area and its location helped the four inmates flee.

How 4 death row inmates escaped prison

Prison guard Ariful Islam and the Chief Warden Dulal Mia were on duty in the condemned cell when the jailbreak occurred at night, said a deputy jailer of Bogura district jail.

Preferring not to be named, he told The Business Standard, "While on duty, Ariful was chit-chatting with another prison guard next to the condom cell at the time of the incident. The chief warden on supervisory duty was also elsewhere."

However, the jailer declined to comment more as the incident is currently under investigation. 

The four inmates – Nazrul Islam Majnu, 60, from Bhurungamari upazila of Kurigram, Amir Hamza alias Amir Hossain, 41, from Madahbdi upazila of Narsingdi, Jakaria, 34, from Kahalu upazila of Bogura and Farid Sheikh, 30 from Bogura sadar – all convicted of murder, escaped the condemned cell around 3:05am on Wednesday after making a hole in the roof of the jail's condemned cell. However, they were caught after around one hour from the town.

In a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, District Superintendent of Police (SP) Sudip Kumar Chakraborty said, "Around 3am last night, the four prisoners made a hole in the roof of the jail's condemned cell. They fashioned a rope using their clothes and bed sheets. Climbing up, they jumped over the wall and escaped across the Karatoya river."

Established during the British period in 1883 on 14.5 acres of land on the bank of the Karatoa river in the heart of the town, Jaleshwaritola-Malatinagar area, Bogura district jail has a capacity of accommodating 720 inmates – 683 male and 37 female, However, it is currently hosting more than 1,700 prisoners. 

According to Police Superintendent Sudip Kumar Chakrabarty, the four inmates crossed the Karatoa river on the east side of the condemned cell, an area largely secluded.  

Another prison official outside Bogura, questioned the routine check of the Bogura prison cells.

The condemned cell at the Bogura Central Jail where the four death row convicts escaped from, but were arrested shortly after on 26 June. Photo: Collected

He told TBS that in the case of Bogura, the routine check might not have been conducted in the cells. Otherwise, the screwdriver and steel sheet would not have been recovered from the inmates who escaped the condom cell.

"It needs to be investigated whether there had been negligence of duty," he said.

As per Deputy Commissioner of Bogura, Saiful Islam, there is a lack of security checkpost on the north side of the jail.

4 death row convicts in Bogura arrested shortly after their prison break

He said after inspecting the jail, it was found that many parts of the building are in a fragile state. There were no rods in the part of the roof where the escaped prisoners leaked. 

He said the authorities have been directed to renovate these parts of places, and set up a security checkpost on the site the accused escaped.

Locals and civil society members demanded an investigation into the incident.

Terming the incident "unusual," Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik (Shujan) Bogura district General Secretary Tuhin Islam pointed fingers at the district prison authorities. 

"Someone from the prison might be involved in the incident," he said.

He further said the district jail should be shifted to outside the city.

8 prison staff suspended, 2 probe committees formed

Meanwhile, Bogura district jail authorities suspended its Deputy Jailer Hasanuzzaman and Chief Prison Guard Farid Uddin yesterday, in connection with the incident.

Earlier, on Wednesday, three prison guards were also suspended, and a divisional case has been filed against them.

Also, to investigate the incident, a six-member committee headed by Additional District Magistrate PM Imrul Kayes, and a three-member committee headed by Additional Inspector General of Prisons Col Sheikh Sujaur Rahman, have been formed.

Meanwhile, a case has been filed over the incident.

Investigating Officer of the case, Sujan Mia, said the four accused prisoners have been sent to jail through a court order, and a plea has been filed seeking an 8-day remand for them.

However, the hearing on the plea is yet to be held, he added.