Md Joynal Abedin Khan :
The Old Jail (former central jail) on the Nazimuddin Road has initially been selected for BNP Chief Khaleda Zia if she is convicted in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case in the judgment today (Thursday).
The jail authorities have taken a ‘decision’ to keep her at Old Jail.
The decision is also almost final as per the instruction of the Home Ministry officials, Prison official sources said.
The BNP chief could be sent to the day-care centre of the old central jail on the Dhaka’s Nazimuddin Road. The centre is being renovated for the past couple of days, they said.
The second priority place is Central Women’s Jail (Kashimpur-3) in Gazipur, they said.
The four other spots are newly built Keraniganj Central Jail, Special Division Cell of National Parliament in Sher-e-Banglanagar, Khaleda’s own House being declared a sub-jail for her accommodation, they added.
Khaleda Zia, as a former prime minister, will get maximum facilities in jail and preparations are being taken accordingly, a jail official told The New Nation on Wednesday.
The official also said that top most secrecy was being maintained in this connection. But the officials consider that the route for carrying prisoners to the jail from the court is risky.
They Jail authorities have begun to renovate women cells housed on the first floor of the Old Jail in the capital, the officials said.
There are four large rooms there. Members of different government agencies have already inspected the preparations and police personnel are stationed within, according to him.
Two deputy jailers will guard former prime minister Khaleda Zia if she is kept in the Nazimuddin Road jail.
A woman deputy jailer will stay inside while a male deputy jailer will stay outside. A physician will be on duty round the clock. A number of skilled jailers have already been selected for deployment inside the jail, he added.
Another jail official said if Khaleda Zia was convicted in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case on 8 February, she might be kept in the central women’s jail (Kashimpur-3) in Kashimpur of Gazipur.
A few officials, preferring not to be named, believe that the Gulshan office of the BNP chief could also be turned into a special prison for this reason. According to the jail authority, If Begum Zia gets convicted, she will be given the label of a divisional convict. As a former Prime Minister and member of the Parliament (MP), she will be provided with this VIP status. As a result, she will be given two caretakers (convicts who are sentenced to long term jail) to look after her.
According to the jail sub-code, if someone is kept in a sub-jail, he/she has to be confined in a single room. As per the rules, without the permission of the jail authority nobody will be allowed to meet the convict. The convict will not be provided telephone and internet facilities. Question arises how an extravagant residence of Gulshan can be converted into a jail. However, it is clear, while she will be going to jail, 5 suitcases will be her companion.
Meanwhile, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Wednesday said the required steps would be taken as per the law after the delivery of the verdict in the case.
“Khaleda Zia is a former prime minister. We do not know what verdict will be in the case. If she is convicted, steps will be taken as per the jail code” he told a press conference at his secretariat office here Wednesday afternoon. When approached, Additional Inspector General (Prisons) Colonel Iqbal Hasan declined to make any comments on this matter at this time.
Meanwhile, Deputy Inspector General (Prisons) Touhidul Islam said: “We do not have any information regarding the matter.”
Jailer of Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj, Mahbubul Islam and Senior Jail Super of Kashimpur Women’s Central Jail, Shahjahan Ahmed both denied having any knowledge about the place of Khaleda’s possible imprisonment. Abdullah Al Mamun, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police, said that the authorities are nor sure about the verdict of Khaleda Zia.
They have ability to manage accommodation for Khaleda Zia within four years after announcement of the verdict, the DIG said.
