A dispute has emerged between the Home and Public Works ministries over responsibility for the escape of four death-row convicts from Bogura District Jail after they broke through the prison roof in June 2024.
An investigation committee of the home ministry’s Security Services Division blamed Bogura Public Works Department (PWD) Executive Engineer AHM Shahriar for negligence. However, a PWD investigation committee found no evidence of negligence on his part.
The conflicting findings have raised questions over the accountability of the officials responsible for maintaining the prison’s infrastructure, particularly as jail authorities say they had repeatedly informed the PWD about the building’s deteriorating condition.
Inspector General of Prisons Brigadier General Syed Mohammad Motaher Hossain told TIMES of Bangladesh that the roof could not have been breached so easily had the structure not been weak.
“It is not easy for anyone to break through a roof. A roof cannot be breached unless the structure is weak. That is why the prison authorities repeatedly informed the PWD,” he said.
“Many prison staff members were punished after the incident. But it is difficult to understand why the PWD submitted a report avoiding responsibility.”
At around 3am on 25 June 2024, four death-row prisoners escaped from the old condemned cell, known as Jaflong Cell No 2, after making a 10-inch hole in the roof. They then used bedsheets to climb over the prison’s high wall.
The four prisoners were Nazrul Islam of Kurigram, Amir Hossain of Narsingdi, and Zakaria and Farid Sheikh of Bogura. Police recaptured all four around 4:10am from the Chhelopara Chashi Bazar area of Bogura city.
The incident prompted separate investigations by the Bogura district administration and the Home and Public Works ministries.
The district administration and home ministry committees blamed Shahriar’s negligence, while the PWD committee cleared him of any wrongdoing.
Following the ministry’s findings, then Public Works secretary Mohammad Nazrul Islam issued Shahriar a show-cause notice, asking him to explain within 10 days why he should not be dismissed. A departmental case was also filed against him.
However, Shahriar remains in government service. He has since been transferred from Bogura to Naogaon.
Jail authorities had warned of structural problems
Documents show that Bogura District Jail Superintendent Mohammad Anwar Hossain sent a requisition to Shahriar on 5 September 2023, informing him that the roofs of five rooms in Jaflong Cell had deteriorated and tiles were falling off.
The letter said the cell housed members of the banned militant group Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and death-row prisoners. It sought removal of the old tiles and construction of a reinforced concrete roof.
The superintendent also said plaster had come off the walls and floor, exposing the bricks, and requested repairs to ensure the prisoners could be securely detained.
On 18 June 2024, the jail superintendent sent another letter to the executive engineer, identifying 12 additional problems at the prison.
Shahriar told the Home and PWD investigation committees that repairs and painting had been carried out in response to the jail authorities’ requests, but the available allocation was insufficient to construct a reinforced concrete roof.
PWD report disputes jail records
The PWD investigation committee, headed by its Rajshahi region Additional Chief Engineer Mohammad Abdul Goffar, submitted its report on 18 November 2024.
The committee found no evidence of negligence by Shahriar and said it had not found any letter corresponding to the requisitions that the prison authorities claimed to have sent.
The finding contradicts Shahriar’s own statement to the committees, in which he referred to two letters from the jail authorities and said the roof could not be constructed because of insufficient funding.
An investigation into the departmental case against Shahriar also found no liability on his part. Investigating officer Sirajul Islam submitted his report on 2 August, which likewise did not mention multiple letters from the Bogura jail authorities.
The discrepancies have prompted questions from prison officials about the PWD investigation.
Asked about the conflicting findings, Housing and Public Works Secretary Obaidur Rahman said he was unaware of the matter and would look into it.
PWD Chief Engineer Mohammad Khalekuzzaman Chowdhury declined to comment. His personal assistant said, “Sir will not talk about this matter now.”
Show-cause notice
The show-cause notice issued to Shahriar on 22 February said the Bogura prison authorities had repeatedly informed him about the building’s dilapidated condition and requested repairs, renovation and roof construction, but he had taken no action.
The notice described the alleged inaction as negligence of duty and professional incompetence amounting to misconduct under government service rules and asked him to explain why he should not be dismissed.
Shahriar told TIMES that the allegations against him had been disproved by the departmental investigation. “Everything was proved to be untrue in the departmental investigation. That is why no disciplinary action was taken against me,” he said.
