Over a year after coordinated attacks on multiple prisons across Bangladesh, more than 700 inmates who escaped custody remain at large, including convicts in some of the country’s most high-profile cases.
The prison breaks, which occurred in July–August last year during the final phase of the anti-discrimination movement, left 16 people dead and saw large caches of arms and ammunition looted.
Among the fugitives are convicts in the BDR mutiny, the murder of BUET student Abrar Fahad, and several militancy and anti-terrorism cases.
Prison authorities have also failed to recover 29 missing firearms and more than 7,400 rounds of ammunition so far.
How many prisoners escaped?
According to prison sources, a total of 2,247 inmates have fled from five facilities—Narsingdi, Sherpur, Satkhira, Kushtia, and Kashimpur High Security Prison.
Of them, 1505 returned, and the remaining 742 fugitives are still on the run.
In Narsingdi jail, 823 inmates escaped, 656 returned, and 167 are still absconding.
In Sherpur prison, 518 escaped, 146 returned, and 372 are still absconding.
In Kushtia jail, 105 escaped, 89 returned, and 16 are still missing.
In Satkhira jail, 596 escaped, 553 returned and 43 are still absconding.
202 inmates escaped from Kashimpur High Security jail, 61 returned and 141 are still missing.
Among the prisoners, most of the inmates imprisoned in militant and other high-profile cases, including top terrorists, were in Kashimpur high security prison.
Apart from the prisoners, during the attacks, 94 firearms were looted from Narsingdi and Sherpur jails—33 Chinese rifles, 38 pistols, and 23 shotguns.
Of these, 65 have been recovered. Nearly 9,200 rounds of ammunition were also seized, but 7,478 remain missing.
Six cases filed, no quick trial in sight
Six cases were lodged against 2,247 accused over the jailbreaks, with two filed in Narsingdi and one each in Sherpur, Satkhira, Kushtia, and Kashimpur.
However, authorities admit the trials are unlikely to conclude anytime soon.
When contacted, a high official of at prison headquarters told this newspaper that the prison authorities have no capacity to track down the fugitives.
“All relevant documents were burned or looted during the attacks. Some information remains in courts and police stations, but in areas where police stations were set ablaze, even those records are gone. We only discover whether someone has escaped when courts summon them,” said the official.
He added that most escapees are convicted prisoners, which is why the court is not summoning them and so identifying all of them remains a challenge.
When asked, Inspector General (IG) of Prisons, Brigadier General Syed Md Motaher Hossain, said that during the July Uprising, more than 2,200 prisoners escaped, among whom more than 700 prisoners are still at large.
“Among the absconding prisoners, nine are militants. Additionally, 69 are convicts sentenced to death or life imprisonment,” He added,
The IG Prisons further said that of the weapons looted at the time, 29 weapons were yet to be recovered.
“Law enforcement agencies are working to recover the weapons and arrest the absconding prisoners,” said the IG Prisons.
