Joynal Abedin Khan :
Country’s 68 jails, with a capacity of handling 29,406 prisoners, having around 91,702 convicts, those imprisoned till February 16 this year, a source in the Department of Prison said on Tuesday.
Admitting the overcrowded situation in the prisons, State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan on Wednesday said in parliament that more than 71,000 prisoners have been kept against the capacity of 29,406 in the jails across the country.
Official sources said the number of prisoners is increasing everyday due to mass arrests across the country following violence of 20-pary alliance during the ongoing blockade and hartal.
At least 20 thousand leaders and activists of BNP and Jamaat-Shibir so far have been arrested from different
parts of the country in the recent crackdown.
The capacity of Dhaka Central Jail is only 2,682, but now 8,515 prisoners have been in the jail, said Nesar Alam, Jailer of Dhaka Central Jail.
On the other hand, at least 1,050 prisoners kept at Kashimpur Jail Part-1 against its total capacity of 300, he said.
Department of Prison sources said the jails of Rangpur division are now in most miserable condition. The prisoners are being affected by various diseases but they are not having proper medical treatment.
