Incomplete boundary wall poses security risk

The incomplete perimeter boundary wall of Dhaka Central Jail, located in an isolated area of Keraniganj, is posing a risk to its overall security.

Without the wall, it will not be easy to tackle any untoward incident, said prison officials and staff.

The southern and western part of the wall has already been completed, along with a part of the eastern side, but the northern part close to the Dhaka-Mawa highway is completely open.

“As part of the plan, the boundary wall should have been built before the construction of the prison. Due to some unknown reasons, it was not. For this, security is disrupted to some extent,” said Inspector General of Prisons Brig Gen Syed Iftekhar Uddin yesterday.

In last July, the jail was moved to Keraniganj from old Dhaka and all of its prisoners were shifted, except for the top terrorists and militants who were taken to Kashimpur on security ground.

While speaking at a press briefing on the prison's ground, the IG prisons had said some locals were the prime reason behind the obstruction of the wall's completion.

They, carrying sharp weapons, chased away Public Works Department officials, demanding building of a road on the prison's land, he said.

However, some locals, preferring anonymity, argued that the authorities had assured them of constructing a road during the prison's land acquisition.

The prisons' chief said he was not aware of any such promises, but was hopeful that the impasse would end soon after a meeting at the ministry in this regard.

He said the work of several establishments including canteen, meeting cells and others was going on at a sloth's pace as the assigned authorities were not working with sincerity.

However, the new jail was not all about crisis and the prisons' chief highlighted that there had been several improvements including solving the prisoners' problems.