Prisoner dies in Chattogram Jail: Authorities say cardiac arrest, family alleges assault

A young prisoner, Farzan Hossain Sajib (26), died after suffering a cardiac arrest at the Chattogram Central Jail today (25 April), the jail authorities claimed.

The family of the deceased, however, alleged that he was beaten during a clash inside the jail, which led to his death.

Sajib was a resident of Ramjoy Mahajan Lane in the Bakshirhat area of Chattogram city. His father, Abu Taleb, hails from Cumilla district.

According to police sources, Sajib was previously involved in politics, first with the now-banned Chhatra League and later with the Swechchhasebak League at the ward level.

He was arrested on the night of 26 March during a police operation conducted by Kotwali Police Station. The following day, Sajib was shown arrested in a case related to preparations for robbery and was sent to jail by court order.

Senior Jail Superintendent of Chattogram Central Jail, Iqbal Hossain, told the media today that Sajib had been kept in Ward-7 of the Jamuna Building of the jail since 27 March. 

According to Iqbal, on Friday morning, Sajib reportedly complained of chest pain. He was immediately transferred to Chattogram Medical College Hospital (CMCH), where doctors pronounced him dead around 12 noon.

"The initial medical report states that Sajib died of a heart attack," said Jail Superintendent Iqbal Hossain.

Meanwhile, SI Alauddin Talukder, stationed at the CMCH police outpost, confirmed the death but did not comment on the cause beyond what was noted in the hospital's report.

Sajib's family, who gathered at CMCH, told reporters a very different story.

They alleged that a fight broke out among inmates inside the prison cell earlier in the morning and that Sajib was severely beaten during the scuffle, which ultimately led to his death.

Sajib's father Taleb said, "I received a call from a person who identified himself as Jail Super Anwar around 11am. He told me that Sajib had clashed with inmates. He asked me to go to the jail with Tk20,000 within 15 minutes. That was not possible for me."

"Around 1pm, the jail authorities called and informed me that Sajib had died of cardiac arrest," he said, alleging, "They killed my son for money."

"Sajib is the father of a son and a daughter. How will they live now?" he added emotionally.

There has been no formal announcement regarding a probe into the family's claims of custodial violence.