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THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2016
Goodbye Dhaka jail
Nahid: Darul Ihsan students can claim compensation
Inmate transfer from Nazimuddin Road site begins tomorrow
n Shohel Mamun
n Mohammad Jamil Khan More than 228 years after it first started housing inmates behind bars, Nazimuddin Road’s Dhaka jail is finally ceasing to act as a place of detention. Authorities are planning to move all 6,500 prisoners over the weekend to a newly-constructed detention facility in Rajendrapur of Keraniganj – which is the new Dhaka Central Jail. After the move, the premises of Nazimuddin Road’s jail will take on a new role as a recreation centre and museum. Jail authorities expect the entire shifting process – which will begin tomorrow – to take at least two days. Assistant inspector general (AIG) of Jail Headquarters, Abdullah Al Mamun, said the shift will be carried out over July 29 and 30 if everything went according to plan. Prison vans would be used to transfer the inmates – most of them men – to the new site, while police and RAB forces would help with arranging extra security during the process. A large share of women and child prisoners who were previously held at Dhaka Central Jail have already been moved to the Kashimpur jail. Although the new jail at Keraniganj was inaugurated by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on April 10, it took a few more months to complete the shift as some of the construction work was still incomplete at the time. Senior jail superintendent of Dhaka Central Jail, Jahangir Hossain, told the Dhaka Tribune that they have already shifted their necessary documents to the new Keraniganj premises and the inmate transfer would be done over the next couple of days as it was the weekend.
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Every student of Darul Ihsan University can now claim at least Tk5 lakh as compensation after the order of the university’s closure, the education minister has said. Talking to reporters at the secretariat following the annual deputy commissioner’s conference, Nurul Islam Nahid said: “The government has already ordered to close the Darul Ihsan University for massive corruption. The university authorities are responsible for paying compensation. So, the students can claim compensation from the university authorities.”
‘The government will help the affected students get admission to another university’
The file photo shows the entrance of the Dhaka Central Jail on Dhaka’s Nazimuddin Road and recreation centre.
The Dhaka jail’s past and future
Long before it became the largest jail in the country, Dhaka Central Jail started its journey as only a criminal ward in 1788. Further down the road in 1929, jails in Dhaka and Rajshahi were declared as central jails. Built on 36 acres of land, the Nazimuddin Road site in Old Dhaka witnessed many historical episodes. The facility housed many political prisoners, especially during the Language Movement of 1952, the Six-Point Movement and the Liberation War. Soon after the prisoners are transferred to Keraniganj, around 17 acres of the jail area would be used to construct a community centre, swimming pool, gymnasium, modern shopping mall and parking place. Inspector General of Prisons Brig Gen Syed Iftekhar Uddin said efforts were on to turn the Nazimuddin Road site into a museum
Facilities of new jail
The new jail site is located in Rajendrapur of South Keraniganj, just 5km from the first Buriganga Bridge. Jail Super Jahangir said the new Dhaka Central Jail has 16 buildings for inmates, spread out over 194 acres of land. Of the buildings, eight were six-storied high. On the ground floor of these buildings, there is a dinning hall and a kitchen, one water pump house and 20 toilets build just beside the buildings. There are also six more buildings that are two- and four-storied high, with capacities for holding 4,000 male prisoners. On each floor of these buildings, there are six large rooms with one bathroom. These will be used as special cells. There is a large playground surrounded by all these buildings. In the middle of it, there is a small
building that will be used for interrogation. There is also a one-storied tinshed building that has the gallows. There are also four “danger cells” built to house noted criminals and militants. The entire jail area has a 25-feet high wall around it. Four 40-feet high watchtowers also stand in each corner of the jail, making it possible for guards to maintain surveillance. The jail premises would be keep under 24-hour surveillance with CCTV cameras. The new jail has a well-equipped hospital as well as facilities for workshop, laundry and spinning mill. It can hold at least 100 teenage inmates and 30 patients with mental illnesses. In front of the jail, there is a visitor room, separate rooms for jail officials and their families, officers club, staff club, school, mosque and conference room.
Nahid added: “The students will be able to use the compensation to get admitted to another university. The government will help the affected students get admission to another university.” Also speaking after the conference, LGRD Minister Khandakar Mosarraf Hossain said: “The district council polls will be scheduled within the next six months. The government will take necessary initiatives to amend the laws to arrange the election.” Following discussions with deputy commissioners, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader told reporters: “We have identified 144 black spots across the country that are causes of road accidents. The government has been working to remove all the black spots. “Already 60% of the black spots have already been removed and rest of the work will be completed by December this year,” Obaidul said. l
Arrest warrants against 59 BNP men n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu A Dhaka court yesterday issued arrest warrants against 59 BNP leaders and activists including the party's Vice-Chairman Salima Rahman in a case filed under the explosive substances act. Acting Judge Ruhul Amin of Dhaka Senior Special Court 1 issued
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THUNDERSHOWER WITH RAIN THURSDAY, JULY 28
station to submit reports by September 18 on execution of arrest warrants in the case. Apart from Salima Rahman, arrest warrants were issued against BNP Joint Secretary General Barkatullah Bulu, BNP chief’s Press Secretary Maruf Kamal Khan and her Personal Assistant Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas. l
the arrest warrants after accepting the charges levelled against 87 BNP-Jamaat leaders and activists in the case. The court issued the arrest warrant as they did not appear before the court during yesterday’s hearing in the case. The court also directed the officer-in-charge of Motijheel police Dhaka
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Chittagong
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Rajshahi
DHAKA TODAY SUN SETS 6:44PM
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Barisal
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Sylhet
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Cox’s Bazar
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Fajr: 4:55am | Zohr: 1:15pm Asr: 5:15pm | Magrib: 6:55pm Esha: 8:45pm Source: Islamic Foundation
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