Pabna Awami League leader dies while in jail custody; family alleges negligence

Prolay Chaki, cultural affairs secretary of the Pabna district Awami League and a musician, died in hospital last night (11 January) while in custody in a case filed over an attack on the Students Against Discrimination protesters, with his family raising allegations of negligence by jail authorities.

He died at around 9:15pm while undergoing treatment at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital.

Jail authorities confirmed the death but rejected allegations of wrongdoing. 

The family claims he was denied proper medical care while in custody, which led to his death.

Pabna District Jail Superintendent Md Omar Faruk said Prolay Chaki had been suffering from multiple health conditions, including diabetes.

"He suffered a stroke on Friday morning [9 January]. He was first taken to Pabna and later shifted to Rajshahi for advanced treatment," he said.

Prolay Chaki's son, Sani Chaki, alleged that despite being a heart patient, his father was not kept in the coronary care unit (CCU) and was instead held in a prisoner cell.

"He was not given the necessary treatment there, and his condition deteriorated further. The jail authorities did not even inform the family about his illness. He died due to sheer negligence," he claimed.

Prolay Chaki was detained by the Detective Branch (DB) of police from his residence in the Pathartala area of Pabna town on the morning of 16 December last year. He was later shown arrested in a case filed over an attack on Students Against Discrimination demonstrators and sent to jail.