Staff Reporter :The government is going to shift the prisoners of Dhaka Central Jail to their new destination at Keraniganj, in the outskirts of the capital by this month.Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to inaugurate the newly-constructed central jail tomorrow (Sunday).Inspector General of Prisons Brigadier General Syed Iftekhar Uddin said this in a press briefing in Police Headquarters on Friday.He said, “The shifting of furniture and documents could be completed in several phases, and the task of taking prisoners will end in a single day, possibly at the weekend so that vehicles from all prisons can be used for the purpose.”The move can take place on a suitable day in the running month after consultation with different law enforcing agencies, the jail boss said. The IG of Prisons said, Keraniganj Jail can accommodate 4,590 male prisoners, and all facilities for them as per the Jail Code are available there as well.He also said, “Essentially Dhaka Central Jail has been shifted to Keraniganj with a view to mitigating the accommodation crisis of the prisoners. It was dilapidated, demanding renovation. There are about 8,000 prisoners in the jail against a capacity of 2,684.””We have installed mobile jammers so the inmates can’t use phones. I have also proposed the buying of luggage and personal scanners for the new prison and for Kashimpur Jail,” he said, speaking of plans to make prisons ‘tech-friendly’. The state authorities implemented the project in Teghoria Union of Keraniganj on a 194.41 acre area at a cost of Tk 406.34 crore.
