Prisoners double in Satkhira jail 'as political cases pile up'
There are currently 785 prisoners — 752 men and 33 women — in the prison, which has the capacity to hold 400 prisoners
The number of prisoners in Satkhira jail has doubled recently.
Currently, 785 prisoners – 752 men and 33 women – are housed in the prison, which has the capacity to hold 400 inmates, the jail authorities said.
This is due to the fact that the prisoners who have political cases filed against them are not getting bail from Satkhira court, according to some local lawyers.
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"They need to seek bail at the High Court. Some of those who get arrested as unnamed individuals mentioned in case statements get bail after spending a month in jail sometimes," one of the lawyers said, seeking anonymity.
Echoing his view, a Satkhira Jubo Dal leader said the reason behind the rise in the number of prisoners is "false political cases" filed against BNP-Jamaat men with eight police stations in the district.
"Even I have two cases filed against me on the allegations of creating anarchy. There are political cases filed against at least a thousand individuals here."
The Satkhira court is not granting bail to any of the accused arrested in political cases, he told this newspaper over the phone. Currently absconding, he is not even trying to secure bail in fear of languishing in jail.
Court officials, however, rejected the claims, saying, "Everything is going on at the regular pace."
Public Prosecutor Abdul Latif also denied the allegations.
"The proceedings of cases are prioritised based on their merit. Those who are involved in anarchy have a low chance of bail, especially when someone repeatedly ends up being arrested for the same crime," he said.
Prisoners having difficulties sleeping
According to sources, the overcrowded Satkhira jail is making life difficult for the prisoners.
Md Abul Bashar, superintendent of Satkhira prison, agreed that the prison is overwhelmed with prisoners and they are having difficulties sleeping.
But there is no food shortage as the food is allocated based on the number of prisoners currently in the prison, not on the overall capacity.
"The jail on 10.5-acre land has 66 prison guards. With the number of prisoners double the capacity, prisoners now need to sleep in congested areas and share the same toilet with more prisoners," he added.
He also said the children with women prisoners get the same amount of food as them. "We urged the higher authorities to allocate one extra egg for each of the children," Bashar added.
