Two Under-Trial Prisoners Die After Falling Ill at Dhaka Central Jail
1-Click Audio Report (Universal Voice)
Two under-trial prisoners, Rafiqul Islam and Mehedi Hasan Kazi, died in separate incidents after falling severely ill at Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj. They were declared dead upon arrival at Dhaka Medical College Hospital on Saturday afternoon. One was suffering from dengue, while the other is suspected to have suffered a fatal stroke.
- Two under-trial prisoners brought from Dhaka Central Jail were declared dead at DMCH on Saturday.
- The deceased were identified as 19-year-old SSC examinee Mehedi Hasan Kazi and 59-year-old Rafiqul Islam.
- A scuffle broke out between Mehedi's relatives and on-duty security personnel demanding the body without an autopsy.
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Two under-trial prisoners have died in separate incidents after falling severely ill at Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj. They were declared dead by attending doctors after being rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) on Saturday afternoon. The deceased were identified as 59-year-old Rafiqul Islam from Kabirhat, Noakhali, and 19-year-old Mehedi Hasan Kazi from Shibchar, Madaripur. Jail and hospital sources reported that one is believed to have suffered a stroke, while the other was battling dengue.
According to prison guards and hospital officials, Rafiqul Islam complained of severe chest pain inside the prison around 3:00 PM on Saturday. He was promptly taken to the DMCH emergency unit, where doctors pronounced him dead around 4:00 PM, suspecting a fatal stroke. Meanwhile, youth inmate Mehedi Hasan, detained in a case filed under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, had been receiving treatment at the prison medical facility for dengue fever. As his health deteriorated, he was brought to DMCH, where he collapsed while being transferred to the medicine ward and was declared dead around 5:00 PM.
Following the news of Mehedi's demise, his distraught relatives arrived at the hospital. His brother, Sayeed Kazi, claimed that Mehedi was an SSC candidate falsely implicated in a case and jailed seven months ago. Tensions flared when the bereaved family demanded the body without an autopsy, leading to a heated altercation and scuffle with on-duty prison guards and Ansar members. Police personnel from Shahbagh Police Station quickly intervened to bring the situation under control.
Inspector Md. Habibur Rahman, in-charge of the DMCH Police Outpost, confirmed the deaths and stated that both bodies have been kept in the hospital morgue. He added that the prison directorate has been duly notified. Official inquest reports will be drafted in the presence of an executive magistrate before post-mortem examinations are carried out. Following legal procedures and the completion of autopsies, the bodies will be handed over to their respective families.
“Ensuring proper healthcare and custody safety for detainees is a constitutional obligation of the state. The death of two under-trial prisoners in a single day—including a youth succumbing to dengue—highlights urgent gaps in prison health management, requiring transparent inquiry and immediate medical reforms.”
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