Shattered, they arrive at jail gate

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Nineteen detained bigwigs of the BNP and Awami League (AL) were sent to Dhaka Central Jail yesterday evening with most of them looking pale and jittery.

Some of them however flashed non-enthusiastic “V” signs to waiting relatives, journalists and onlookers at the jail gate.

Two white microbuses of detective branch (DB) of police brought 10 of the high profile detainees to the jail gate just at 6:15pm. Nine others were brought at 7:10pm in another white microbus of the DB.

AL leader and former home minister Mohammad Nasim was sitting by the window in the middle row of seats in one microbus while BNP leader and former communications minister Nazmul Huda was sitting just next to him. But the two leaders of the rival parties did not look at each other.

Sheikh Hasina’s assistant personal secretary Dr Awlad Hossain, former president of Jatiya Chhatra League Jahangir Sattar Tinku, Swechchasebak League Vice-president M Abdur Razzak, Firoz Mian and another was brought in another microbus.

The nine others in another microbus included BNP leaders Amanullah Aman, Mir Mohammad Nasiruddin, Iqbal Hasan Mahmud and M Naser Rahman and AL leaders Salman F Rahman, Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir and Lotus Kamal.

Around 300 people including relatives of the detainees, journalists and onlookers were waiting at the jail gate. Many locals were also seen staring at the jail from rooftops and balconies of their houses nearby.

HOW THE DETAINEES WERE TREATED IN CUSTODY

Nazmul Huda’s wife Sigma Huda told reporters at the jail gate that the law enforcers did not torture or maltreat her husband.

She however said she was yet to back her mobile phone set that the law enforcers took away while taking her husband on Saturday night.

Sigma said they will face her husband’s detention as per the law.

Salauddin Quader’s son Humam Quader Chowdhury told The Daily Star that his father was not tortured or maltreated while in custody. Quoting his father, whom he met at Cantonment police station yesterday morning, said his father faced a bit problem on the first night of his detention as he was kept in a four feet by seven feet cell at Rab-1 office in Uttara.

The law enforcers interrogated his father on different issues but addressed him ’sir’, he said. He however did not say what were the issues.

Detained M Abdur Razzak’s wife Hosne Ara Chhabi said she talked to her husband for five minutes at the court. He was not tortured, she added.

Deputy Inspector General (Prisons) Major Shamsul Haider Siddique told The Daily Star that as per jail code, former ministers and lawmakers among the arrestees would get ‘division’ (special facilities in jail).

As the jail authorities are renovating the existing 24 division cells in the central jail, they would be kept in makeshift ones now, he said.

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