Nine inmates of Dhaka Central Jail have died within just six days amid an acute shortage of doctors and inadequate medical facilities in prisons, renewing concerns over healthcare for nearly 100,000 prisoners across the country.
The dead included both convicted prisoners and detainees awaiting trial in different cases.
Prison authorities say all nine had pre-existing health conditions and medical histories. Relatives of prisoners, however, have long alleged inadequate treatment and, in some cases, torture in custody. Prison authorities reject allegations of torture.
The shortage of medical care is stark. Former inspector general of prisons Md Motahar Hossain said 159 of 161 doctors’ posts at the country’s 75 prisons were vacant, leaving just two doctors for nearly 100,000 inmates.
Prison authorities frequently report inmates suddenly falling ill. But without doctors available to provide immediate treatment, questions remain over whether some deaths could have been prevented.
The Department of Prisons has proposed amending deputation rules to allow the direct recruitment of non-cadre doctors, but the government has yet to respond.
Human rights organisation Odhikar Director ASM Nasir Uddin Elan told TIMES, “Many prisoners enter jail already injured or ill and do not receive treatment inside. Again, many enter completely healthy but fall ill and die because of torture inside the prison.”
He said the severe shortage of doctors had crippled prison healthcare. “When a prisoner becomes seriously ill, time is lost in the administrative process of sending them to hospital, which increases the risk of death,” he said.
The latest deaths came in quick succession.
On Monday morning, two Dhaka Central Jail inmates, Rafiqul Islam, 54, and Abdur Rahim, 60, died.
Rafiqul fell ill in prison and was taken to hospital by prison guards, where he was declared dead by doctors. He was serving a sentence in a case and was from Patra Nabis village in Ulipur upazila of Kurigram.
Rahim had been admitted to the Neurosurgery Department of Dhaka Medical College Hospital on 3 September. He lived in the DIT Plot area of Gandaria in Dhaka.
A day earlier, on Sunday, detainee Abdul Mabud, 58, died in prison. He was brought to hospital unconscious around 11:30am.
On Saturday night, Abdul Barek, 70, died in the coronary care unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital after being admitted earlier that day. Barek, from Netrokona, was serving a sentence in a murder case.
Detainee Ali Akbar Mondal, 67, died in prison on the morning of 7 September and was later brought to hospital. He was from Babukhali in Mohammadpur upazila of Magura.
Three inmates died in hospital on 6 September — Abul Bashar, 58, Abdul Qaiyum, 62, and Md Shahadat Hossain Liton, 52.
Prison guards brought Bashar to hospital in the morning, where he was declared dead shortly afterwards. He was from Kutia Lakshmipur village in Kachua upazila of Chandpur and was detained in a case filed under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act.
Qaiyum was brought to hospital around the same time and was declared dead at about 9am. A resident of Golai Padabazar village in Chauddagram upazila of Cumilla, he was detained in eight cases.
Shahadat had been admitted to hospital on 28 August and was being treated in Ward 502 of the Medicine Department. He was detained in cases filed with the Speedy Trial Tribunal and Uttara Police Station. His home was in Pabla village under Daulatpur Police Station in Khulna.
Babul Hossain, 45, died in prison on 3 September and was later brought to hospital. He was an accused in a narcotics case filed with Jatrabari Police Station in Dhaka and was from Manoharpur under Kotwali Police Station in Jashore.
Dhaka Medical College Hospital Police Camp In-Charge Inspector Md Habibur Rahman said post-mortem examinations are conducted before the bodies of prisoners who die in such circumstances are handed over to their families.
Masud Hasan Jewel, jailer at the Department of Prisons, said all the deceased inmates had previous medical histories and physical complications. “Some had been suffering from different diseases for a long time. Some were elderly, while several were suffering from serious illnesses,” he told TIMES.
He said the inmates had been taken to outside hospitals for treatment several times when necessary. “No prisoner came to jail completely healthy and then suddenly died,” he said.
An unnatural death case is filed over each death and investigated by police.
The nine deaths are part of a broader pattern.
According to Ain o Salish Kendra, 79 inmates died in prisons across the country during the first eight months of 2026. Of them, 47 were awaiting trial.
Department of Prisons figures show 491 inmates died while being taken from prison to hospital over the past five years.
Prisons have no designated ambulances for seriously ill inmates. They are taken to hospital by rickshaw, van or whatever vehicle is available, often delaying access to emergency treatment.
Prison officials themselves acknowledge that such delays may contribute to deaths.
Public health expert Lelin Choudhury told TIMES, “Every prison should have a fully equipped medical team, including doctors. Alongside doctors, there should be nurses, technicians and other necessary healthcare workers. Facilities for conducting some essential and routine medical tests should also be available.”
He said having diagnostic and primary healthcare facilities inside prisons would allow inmates who suddenly fall ill to receive prompt treatment and could prevent many deaths.
