AL leader dies at Kashimpur jail while being handed over for remand
Wasikur Rahman Babu was arrested on 24 September after he was reportedly seen leading an Awami League "flash procession" in the Panthapath area of the capital
A leader of the activities-banned Awami League died of a suspected heart attack at Kashimpur Central Jail-2 yesterday afternoon (21 December) while being handed over to the police for a three-day remand.
The deceased Wasikur Rahman Babu, 43, was the youth and sports secretary of the Badda Thana unit of the banned Awami League and a former president of the banned student organisation Chhatra League of the same unit. He hailed from Tungipara in Gopalganj district.
The incident occurred in the admission branch of the prison, confirmed Al Mamun, senior jail superintendent of Kashimpur Central Jail-2. He said, a police team had arrived at the jail to take Babu into their custody for interrogation following a court order. During the formal handover process, Babu was seated in a chair when he suddenly collapsed and fell to the floor.
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Prison staff immediately rushed him to the Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Medical College Hospital in Gazipur. However, the doctor on duty at the emergency department declared him "brought dead".
Wasikur Rahman Babu was arrested on 24 September after he was reportedly seen leading a "flash procession" in the Panthapath area of the capital. Following his arrest, a case was filed against him under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
He had been imprisoned in Kashimpur jail since 27 September. Recently, a court granted investigators a three-day window to question him in police custody. The police team had visited the jail yesterday specifically to execute that remand order.
The jail authorities have informed that the body will undergo a post-mortem examination to determine the exact cause of death. Legal formalities and a standard inquiry into the custodial death are currently underway as per the existing regulations.
