Bangladesh News

Four top outlaws in the country’s southwest region serving out long prison sentences broke out of Chuadanga Jail Thursday night.
The escaped convicts are Aktaruzzaman Sohag, 38, Abdul Hamid, 37, Jorap Ali alias Bachchu 32, of Chuadanga and Asiqur Rahman Tagar, 36, of neighbouring Kushtia.

Hamid and Tagar were the gang bosses named after them while Sohag and Bachchu were top cadres of the outlawed Banglar Communist Party (BCP-Laltu). Tagar was also a daytime BNP cadre in Kushtia.

Arrested between 1998 and 2002, the four were serving out jail terms ranging from 44 to 80 years, police said.

The breakout caused panic in the region. All police stations in the 10 south-western districts were kept on alert. Special security measures were taken in all jails in the region.

The four had been confined in a high-security prison cell of the jail for last several years.

Police said the felons, who were never allowed inside the jail compound, might have been drilling a hole in the prison-cell wall for many days, without jail guards suspecting anything.

On Thursday night, they climbed the boundary wall of the jail and jumped themselves free.

Stopping short of saying how the outlaws could climb the 18-feet high steep wall without help from inside, Jail Superintendent Nasir Uddin only said things would be clear after investigations.

Two probe committees, one headed by additional district magistrate (ADM) of Chuadanga and the other by deputy inspector general (prisons) of Rajshahi Jail, were formed to find out the loophole in the security system leading to the daring breakout.

Both the committees were asked to report within 24 hours.

Superintendent of Police (SP) of Chuadanga, Mafiz Uddin, said they would make an all-out effort to smoke out the four escaped convicts. A joint drive by police and Rab was already underway.

The four men were accused in numerous cases filed with police stations in Chuadanga, Meherpur, Jhenidah and Kushtia.

Hamid, who was arrested in 2001, was accused in at least 15 cases, including eight for murders. He was given 44 years’ rigorous imprisonment (RI) in just two cases — one for murder and the other for possessing illegal weapons.

Jorap Ali aka Bachchu was indicted in at least 10 cases including five for murders. He was handed 70 years’ RI in only two cases.

Sohag was accused in at least 16 cases including six for murders and was sentenced to a whopping 80-year RI in three cases while Tagar was accused in at least 20 cases and was given 50 years’ RI in two cases.

Inspector General of Police (prisons) Brigadier General Zakir Hassan visited the spot yesterday.