Dhaka, August 18, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
At least 690 prisoners who escaped from jails during Bangladesh’s 2024 uprising remain at large, Inspector General of Prisons Brigadier General Syed Mohammad Motaher Hossain has said.
According to the Prisons IG, authorities have no records or trace of 166 of the 690 fugitives. A total of 2,247 prisoners escaped after several prisons across the country were breached during the unrest.
Motaher said 826 inmates escaped from Narsingdi District Jail alone, and authorities have been unable to trace records of 166 of them.
He also said nine suspected militant prisoners escaped from custody, of whom six have since been arrested while three remain at large.
“Under the current circumstances, it is not possible to keep militant prisoners separately,” Motaher said.
He said the prison authorities’ objective was not limited to running correctional facilities but also to building a modern correctional service focused equally on security, rehabilitation and reform of inmates, as well as the professional dignity, skills and welfare of prison officials and employees.
Motaher also highlighted an administrative reform at Mymensingh District Jail, which has been operating as a “cashless” prison since June 24. He said the initiative had created greater scope for transparency in prison management.
The comments come amid continuing scrutiny of Bangladesh’s prison system. Reports in June had alleged that the country’s 72 prisons had increasingly become discriminatory institutions, with wealthy and influential inmates allegedly enjoying preferential treatment while poorer prisoners faced significantly harsher conditions.
Despite the official emphasis on the concept of prisons as correctional centres rather than places of punishment, rights activists and prison experts have raised concerns about conditions and the influence of political connections, personal networks and financial power within the system.
The authorities’ latest figures highlight the continuing security challenge posed by the large number of prisoners who remain unaccounted for after the mass prison escapes of 2024.
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