Shahnoor Alam, 60, a leader of the Hatsherpur Union unit of Awami League (activities banned) in Bogura’s Sariakandi upazila, has died while in prison custody.
He passed away on Friday night while undergoing treatment at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) in Dhaka, where he had been transferred from Keraniganj Central Jail.
Shahnoor, a resident of Nizbalail village and the vice president of the Hatsherpur Union Awami League, was reportedly suffering from diabetes and high blood pressure. His wife, Morium Sultana, stated that he also had a physical disability, having lost a leg in a motorcycle accident seven years ago and requiring crutches to move.
According to his family, Shahnoor was abducted and assaulted by a “mob” of BNP activists in Bogura town’s Naruli area on 3 January.
Morium Sultana alleged that the captors demanded a ransom of Tk3 lakh. Although the family sought help from the Bogura Sadar Police Station, they claimed the police detained Shahnoor for two days without a case instead of apprehending the abductors.
He was eventually shown arrested in an old case under the Explosive Substances Act and sent to jail on 5 January after a court denied his bail application.
Shahnoor’s health reportedly deteriorated after being imprisoned. He was initially treated at Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital in Bogura before being moved to the NICVD in Dhaka for advanced care.
His son, Rakib Hossain, has alleged medical negligence, claiming that on 5 March, doctors advised transferring his father to the National Institute of Kidney Diseases and Urology as his kidneys were failing. However, prison authorities allegedly returned him to Keraniganj Central Jail instead.
He was later rushed back to the NICVD in critical condition, where doctors pronounced him dead at 10pm. Efforts to obtain a comment from Bogura Sadar Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Munirul Islam were unsuccessful as he did not respond to phone calls.
Records indicate that Shahnoor is the sixth Awami League leader to die in Bogura prison custody in approximately 16 months, between 11 November 2024 and 13 March 2025. Prison authorities have attributed most of these deaths to heart disease.
Other deceased leaders include Emdadul Haq (52), Abdul Motin (65), former principal Shahadat Alam (57), Abdul Latif (67), and Shahidul Islam (58).
