Ctg Central Jail a better place without Sohel

Inmates at the Chattogram Central Jail are now better off, following the arrest of its jailer Sohel Rana Biswas, who allegedly indulged in unbridled corruption and sold drugs in collusion with other jail officials.

Prisoners who paid the alleged syndicate inside the facility got adequate space to sleep, better food and canteen facilities, and sufficient water for bathing and toilet use, inmates told The Daily Star on Chattogram court premises.

Those who failed to buy the “service package” had to suffer, as they were denied basic rights inside the prison, they added.

The situation changed remarkably after Sohel was arrested on October 26 with over Tk 44 lakh in cash, fixed deposit receipts (FDRs) worth Tk 2.50 crore, and Phensedyl at Kishoreganj.

He later confessed to investigators about how he amassed the wealth.

A 50-year-old prisoner serving six months at the jail said, “After I was sent to jail on May 15, I was forced to clean toilets and carry buckets of water, as I had refused to buy the package.”

“I got relieved of such work after I paid Tk 15,000,” the inmate told this correspondent on Sunday, requesting anonymity.

He said such corruption has decreased, but has not been eradicated in the prison.

Inmate Md Enam, sentenced to six months, claimed that he had been buying the “package” for Tk 3,000 a week since he landed in jail two months ago.

“But now, I only have to pay designated convicts a pack of cigarette every week,” said Enam.

“The price of food items and others recently dropped significantly,” he said.

There is a kitchen market inside the jail, from where inmates can buy produce and cook for themselves. Price of 1kg potato went as high as Tk 130 when Sohel was the jailer, Enam said, while the price of 1kg chicken was Tk 600.

The price of potato has come down to Tk 30-40 now, while chicken is priced at Tk 250, he added.

Sohel and his syndicate had raised the price at the market, according to inmates.

Chattogram jail has a capacity of accommodating 1,850 inmates, but around 9,500 prisoners are in the facility, jail sources said.

Sohel told police interrogating him that every month Tk 2.47 crore used to be collected inside Chattogram Central Jail.

The lion's share of which came from drug sales. he said.

Of the amount, his share was Tk 42 lakh and the rest were distributed among top officials and his syndicate members inside the prison.

Prison sources said the syndicate members, including a few inmates, have been moved to other jails following Sohel's arrest.

Mohammed Mamun, brother of an inmate, said a few days after his brother was sent to the prison, a person called him to say that his brother was not feeling well.

“The caller said if I send money, my brother would enjoy enough food, good accommodation, and other facilities,” Mamun told The Daily Star.

He had sent Tk 3,000 and they stopped torturing him, he added.

Partha Kumar Banik, superintendent of Chattogram Central Jail, brushed aside the allegations of irregularities in the prison.

“There is no anomaly in food, medical and accommodation," he said.

“There were lots of allegation against arrested jailer Sohel but the situation is different now,” he added.