Narsingdi prison break: 451 inmates surrender, 30 arrested

Of the 826 prisoners who escaped from Narsingdi District Jail, 451 have surrendered through the Narsingdi court as of Friday, with an additional 30 arrested in connection with criminal cases.

In total, 481 prisoners have been captured. Notably, three members of the same family surrendered today, and another inmate was arrested in Gazipur.

On Thursday, Narsingdi District Commissioner Badiul Alam confirmed the surrender of 447 prisoners and the recovery of 41 weapons out of the 85 looted.

The jailbreak occurred on 19 July, during the violence surrounding the quota reform movement.

A group attacked Narsingdi District Jail, near the Dhaka-Sylhet highway, breaking open cells and allowing inmates to escape. The attackers used shovels and iron objects and took keys from guards to facilitate the escape.

Following the incident, Jail Superintendent Abul Kamal Azad and Jailer Kamrul Islam were suspended.

Eleven cases have been filed in connection with the clashes and the looting of weapons, according to Narsingdi Superintendent of Police Mohammad Mostafizur Rahman.

He also reported that 184 people have been arrested, and four out of nine escaped militants have been apprehended.

The SP detailed the incident, saying that “anti-liberation forces and miscreants” attacked several establishments, including the district prison, following Jum’ah prayers.

The attackers facilitated the inmates’ escape and looted arms. Law enforcement regained control after approximately three and a half hours.

Mostafizur also said that the police have recovered 45 of the 85 looted arms and 1,091 rounds of ammunition.

Among those arrested is Faruk Ahmed, a member of the banned Islamist group Ansar al-Islam, who was captured by RAB in Narayanganj’s Sonargaon.

The timeline of surrenders and arrests is as follows: on 22 July, five prisoners surrendered; on 23 July, 129; on 24 July, 183; and on 25 July, 130 prisoners surrendered.

Additionally, the police arrested 19 inmates on 23 July, seven on 24 July, and four on 25 July.