Dhaka Central Jail relocation completes Saturday

As the final part of relocating the Dhaka Central Jail outside the capital, some 6,000 prisoners will be shifted to newly built central jail in Keraniganj on the outskirts of the capital on Friday.
The jail authorities will begin shifting the prisoners at 6:00 am on Friday and it will continue till Saturday evening, according to a UNB report.

Sources at the Dhaka Central Jail said only mature male prisoners will be shifted to the new jail while VIP and female prisoners, militants, top terrors and convicted war criminals have already been sent to Kashimpur Central Jail in Gazipur on security grounds.
Inspector General (IG) of Prisons Brig Gen Syed Iftekhar Hossain himself will monitor the transfer process of prisoners, the largest-ever in Bangladesh’s history at a time.
Earlier on April 10, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina formally inaugurated the new Dhaka Central Jail at Keraniganj. Though the prisoners were scheduled to be shifted to the new central jail by April, it had not been possible for various reasons, including security ground.
A jail officer said enough officials and jail guards were sent to the new central jail on Thursday. Trained cooks were also sent to the new jail so that prisoners can take their meal from Friday noon, he said requesting anonymity.
Around 20 prison vans have already been brought from other jails surrounding Dhaka for smooth shifting of the prisoners. All-out security measures have been taken deploying police, Rab and other law enforcement and intelligence agencies in different strategic points on roads leading to the new central jail from old one.
The new central jail is being built on 194.41 acres of land and the estimated cost rose to Tk 406 crore from its original project cost of Tk 337.08.
Of the 4,000 accommodation capacity in the new central jail, 100 seats will be for male adolescents, 30 for mentally-challenged male prisoners, 200 for woman inmates, 40 for female adolescent prisoners, 20 for female mentally-challenged prisoners.
Besides, 60 classified wards and 400 cells are also being constructed for dangerous prisoners.
A 200-bed hospital and a daycare centre have also been set up on the new premises at Rajendrapur under South Keraniganj, adjacent to Dhaka-Mawa Highway.
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