January 2002 January 2003 January 2004 January 2005 January 2006 January 2007 May 2007 July 2008
24,997 25,018 25,396 26,157 27,112 27,254 27,254 27,451
62,486 75,135 69,519 74,710 72,836 68,278 85,941 87,011
Health Facilities in Prison Over the years, the steady rise in the prison population has not been accompanied by any initiative to set up new hospitals or to improve health care facilities in existing jail hospitals. According to the DIG (Prisons), "Not only the general prisoners, every one in jails suffers because of the shortage of doctors and other health care facilities". Reportedly there are only 16 doctors against 77 posts to look after about 90,000 inmates in jails all over the country. Hospital facilities are available in twelve prisons only and the remaining prisons lack any such health service facilities; none of these hospitals has an ambulance for emergency transport. Usually, these hospital beds are occupied by rich and powerful prisoners; so that other prisoners in serious condition are denied access to appropriate treatment. On the other hand, the VIP prisoners get extra priority and advantages in treatment, they even occupy all beds for prisoners available in specialized prison wings of Government hospitals. Former BNP State Minister for Home Affairs Lutfuzzaman Babar, sentenced to 17 years imprisonment in an arms case (later released on bail in December) was staying at the prison cell of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) Hospital for about 18 or 19 months of his detention. Like him, most of over 150 high profile prisoners detained after 11 January 2007 and later freed on bail or parole, spent a large portion of their detention at different hospitals under jail custody. They included Tarique Rahman, Arafat Rahman Koko, two sons of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, Adviser to Khaleda Zia (MP) Salauddin Kader Chowdhury, former BNP ministers Tariqul Islam存 Mirza Abbas, Altaf Hossain Chowdhury, Najmul Huda, Khandakar Mosharraf Hossain and Moudud Ahmed, former deputy minister Amanullah, former state ministers Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku and Mir Nasir, Former BNP-MPs Nasiruddin Ahmed Pintu, Hafiz Ibrahim, Ali Asghar Lobi, Manjurul Ahsan Munshi, Wadud Bhuiyan. Chittagong City Corporation Mayor (Awami League leader) ABM Mohiuddin, Janakantha publisher Atiqullah Khan Masud, Former AL Secretary General Abdul Jail were also among those who spent Women in Prisons As reported in the Ittefaq of 7 August 2008, there were at least 3,480 women inmates in several prisons in Bangladesh. Despite the Jail Code provisions requiring women to be segregated from men, an under trial female prisoner reportedly became pregnant and delivered a child on 21 October this year. A convict was later produced by the jail authorities before the magistrate who confessed to being responsible. During the year, the first women-only prison constructed in late 2007 came into use with women prisoners from the grossly overcrowded Dhaka Central Jail being shifted there.