Bangladesh shuffles five senior prisons officials after militants' escape

The government has rung the changes on the top brass of the prisons authority in the wake of two condemned militants' escape from the custody of lawmen in Dhaka.

In a major shake-up, three deputy inspectors general of prisons and two senior jail superintendents have been transferred, according to a notice by the home ministry, reports UNB.

The authorities have moved DIG AKM Fazlul Huq to Dhaka from Chattogram, replacing DIG Md Altab Hossain who is seconded to Rangpur. Meanwhile, DIG Touhidul Islam is set to leave Rangpur for Dhaka.

Senior Superintendent Md Abdul Aziz of the Kashimpur High-Security Central Jail has been transferred to Rajshahi Central Jail, with Subrata Kumar Bala moving the other way.

The transfers came days after Moinul Hasan Shamim alias Samir and Abu Siddique Sohel alias Shakib were snatched from police custody by their associates on Nov 20 while they were being taken back to a lockup after testifying in court.

Shamim and Sohel, both leaders of the outlawed militant outfit Ansar-al-Islam, were sentenced to death over their involvement in the killings of writer-blogger Avijit Roy and publisher Faysal Arefin Dipan.

Police later formed two committees to investigate the incident while announcing a Tk 2 million reward for information leading to the capture of the runaway convicts. A red alert was also issued across the country.

The incident alarmed security experts, with former IGP AKM Shahidul Haque blaming neglect of duty and unprofessionalism on the police's part for the prisoners' escape. Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan also did not rule out the possibility of negligence by the police.