7-Murder Verdict: Condemned cells in N'ganj jail crammed with convicts

Narayanganj District Jail had to keep more than one convict on death row in a single condemned cell to accommodate 12 prisoners who were given the capital punishment on Monday in the 2014 seven murder case.

The District and Sessions Judge's Court handed down death penalty to 26 accused and different jail terms to nine others. Of the 35 convicts in the case, 12 are on the run.

Following the verdict, 18, including 12 death row convicts, were taken to the Narayanganj jail while two to Kashimpur Central Jail-1 and three to Kashimpur Central Jail-2.

Narayanganj District Jail has 15 condemned cells with 13 of them already occupied by previous death row convicts, said jailer Asadur Rahman.

"So, we've to keep 25 convicts in 15 cells.”

The jailer, however, said none of the convicts was getting any undue benefit.

Another jailer, preferring anonymity, said it is better not to keep more than one death row convict in a cell.

As per the jail code, one or three or five men (uneven number) can be kept in a condemned cell but two or four men (even number) should not be in one cell.

About the condition of the convicts in the sensational case, Asadaur Rahman said most of them were depressed. Some of them were seen crying while being taken to the jail.

"Some of them have cried today [Tuesday].”

Meanwhile, Prasanta Kumar Banik, senior jail superintendent of Kashimpur jail-2, said death row convict Nur Hossain, Tareque Sayeed Mohammad and Belal Hossain of the seven-murder case were kept in three separate condemned cells. They were given designated clothes. 

"They looked quite normal when they had food and during movement," Prasanta said.

Tariqul Islam, jailer of Kashimpur jail-1, said two other convicts -- Arif Hossain and Masud Rana -- were taken to the jail on Monday evening and kept in separate condemned cells.

"They looked very depressed," he said.

Seven people, including the then NCC panel mayor Nazrul Islam and senior lawyer Chandan Sarker, were abducted from Dhaka-Narayanganj link road on April 27, 2014. Later, their bodies were found floating in the Shitalakkhya river.

Of the 26 sentenced to death in the case, 16 are former Rab members, including the then commanding officer of Rab-11 in Narayanganj Lt Col Tareque Sayeed Mohammad and the then company commanders of Rab-11 Maj Arif Hossain and Lt Commander Masud Rana.

Tareque is the son-in-law of Disaster Management and Relief Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya. Tareque, Arif and Masud were withdrawn from Rab and forced into retirement.