13 jail officers harassed for steps against controversial acts

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The prisons authorities are reportedly harassing 13 jail officials who took legal steps against some of the authorities’ controversial steps.

The authorities have initiated departmental proceedings and are lobbying with the home ministry for punishment of a senior jail superintendent. Moreover, departmental proceedings are underway against a jail superintendent basing on a letter from an anonymous sender that does not contain any specific allegation.

They have also been learnt to be lobbying again with the home ministry for sending 11 officials into forced retirement on the ground of corruption and irregularities after failing to do so during the immediate past government’s regime, home ministry sources said.

The harassment began after 44 officials led by Senior Superintendent Sheikh Abdul Amik filed a writ petition challenging prison officers and staff recruitment rules, 2006 and the court issued a rule on September 6 why it should not be declared unconstitutional.

Amik, the then head of Kashimpur jail, started to receive ‘illegitimate’ verbal orders from top prison officials and was demoted to superintendent as he was transferred to Sunamganj jail on October 9. But the High Court stayed the transfer order on October 19 and passed a rule on the jail authorities.

“They got furious especially because I opposed the provision of appointment of army officers to top prisons posts and sending jail guards to different jails as ’spies’ without mentioning any job description,” Amik told The Daily Star, adding that the Inspector General (Prisons) himself threatened him openly at a jail conference in June.

Branding Amik as the ‘most corrupt’, the prisons authorities submitted application to the home ministry in the last week of November asking the authorities to take punitive action against him. The ministry, however, is yet to start a probe.

Interestingly, Inspector General (Prisons) Brigadier General Zakir Hasan himself recommended promotion of Amik to deputy inspector general on May 25 this year, identifying him as a competent officer. Amik’s ACR (annual confidential report) since 2002 also said he was eligible for promotion, said a source.

The jail authorities moved in the home ministry for sending five of the 44 aforementioned officials, along with six others, into forced retirement on grounds of ‘corruption and irregularities’ saying that otherwise there may be mutiny in their jails. But the plan could not be implemented as the Special Branch report proved contradictory to the allegations.

Recently the authorities started lobbying with the government again for sending them to forced retirement.

Prisons authorities got more furious as the said officials opposed collecting money from inmates’ visitors at different jails in the name of ‘Command Fund’ violating prohibition of such practice from the home ministry and the previous jail administration.

After a writ was filed, the High Court on October 19 stayed such money collection for three months and issued a rule.

In the beginning of December, the jail authorities asked explanation from a jail superintendent basing on allegation received from an unknown sender of a letter although there are specific government instructions not to entertain any letter that does not contain specific information about the allegations.

After the jail superintendent submitted his reply, the authorities lodged a departmental case in the second week of December.

“Such misuse of power and vengeful activities did not take place when the power of lodging departmental cases rested with the ministry earlier. We fear the officials who the authorities do not like may also face similar cases soon,” said a retired jail superintendent on condition of anonymity.

Some other officials who were preparing to take legal steps against the authorities’ controversial steps backtracked fearing harassment after witnessing the harassment of these officials, sources said.

The IG (Prisons) yesterday said departmental proceedings are underway against seven or eight jail officials, mostly for corruption. He, however, denied the allegation of lobbying with the government high-ups for taking action against the 11 officials.

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