Why was BCL leader not released on parole to see his wife and child’s bodies?

On Friday afternoon, after the Jummah prayers, residents of Sabekdanga village in Bagerhat Sadar were returning home when word spread that the bodies of a woman and her nine-month-old baby had been found in their house.

According to locals, the body of the woman, Kaniz Subarna, aka Swarnali, 22, was found hanging from a rope attached to the ceiling of her husband’s house. The lifeless body of her nine-month-old son, Sejad Hasan (Nazif), was also found.

The child had reportedly been submerged in water inside a bathroom bucket. Believing the baby might still be alive, relatives and neighbours rushed him to Bagerhat district hospital.

However, emergency duty physician Sakia Haque said the child had already died before reaching the hospital.

“The baby was brought in on Friday afternoon. He was no longer alive at that time. Still, whenever we receive a drowning case, we attempt rescue breathing. I kept asking those who brought him how long it had been and whether he had fallen into water, but no one could give a clear answer,” she said.

She added that it was impossible for them to determine whether the child had fallen into the water on his own or had been thrown there by someone else. Despite that, physicians attempted resuscitation for about 45 minutes before declaring him dead.

After receiving the information, police from Bagerhat sadar model police station visited the scene. They recovered Kaniz’s hanging body and sent it to the hospital morgue. Kaniz was the wife of Jewel Hasan (Saddam), president of the now-banned BCL’s Bagerhat sadar unit. Saddam is currently detained in Jashore jail.

Initially, Kaniz’s relatives and local residents said she had been suffering from mental distress and depression after failing to secure her husband’s release from jail. They claimed she killed her child and then committed suicide.

However, on Sunday afternoon, Kaniz’s brother Shah Newaz Amin alleged that his sister had been murdered.

“There are many gaps in this case. We heard the news around 1:40–1:45 pm after prayers. At that time, no one was in the house. There are information gaps in what we are hearing,” he said.

He added that Kaniz and Saddam had married by choice, and later both families accepted the marriage.

Kaniz’s father, Md Ruhul Amin, joint secretary of the district Jatiya Party, filed a murder case at the police station on Saturday.

“I saw my daughter hanging when I arrived. Hundreds of people were there. Later, I heard that my grandson had died. My daughter might have taken her own life but how did my grandson die? I want to know what really happened. The police must investigate and uncover the truth,” he said.

Saddam’s younger brother, Md Shahidul Islam, said there had initially been distance between the two families, but relations improved after their father’s death. However, there had been little contact from Kaniz’s family over the past two months.

He said, “My sister-in-law loved my brother deeply. She broke down because she couldn’t get him released from jail. Maybe something was said from her parental home that pushed her further into despair. On Thursday, her brother gave her Tk 200. She sent that money back on Friday afternoon. After that, no one was at home—then the incident happened.”

Shahidul Islam said Kaniz often worried whether Saddam would ever be released. “People told her at different times that he would never be freed, or that even if he was, he would be killed because he had become ‘viral’. These things left her extremely distressed. We secured my brother’s bail four times, but each time he was taken from the jail gate in connection with new cases.”

He said Saddam currently faces 11 cases, all of which he claims are politically motivated.

Kaniz’s brother Shah Newaz Amin added that his sister was often subjected to harsh comments in public because she was Saddam’s wife.

On Friday, the bodies of Kaniz and her son Sejad were taken by hearse to Jashore Central Jail so that detained Saddam could see them one last time. He was given less than five minutes.

Describing the moment, Saddam’s brother Shahidul Islam said, “My brother couldn’t hold his child in his arms. Yesterday he said, ‘I couldn’t hold my child while he was alive—what will I do holding him after death?’ He placed his hand on the child’s head and said, ‘I couldn’t be a good father. I couldn’t be a good husband. Please forgive me.’ Those were my brother’s last words.”

Kaniz’s father Ruhul Amin said Saddam did not even get five minutes to see his deceased wife and child at the jail gate. He did not lift the child but embraced Kaniz and bade farewell.

After news of the deaths broke, a letter allegedly written by Saddam to his wife went viral on Facebook. The letter mentions his regret at not being able to hold his child.

Widespread debate and criticism followed on social media over why Saddam was not released on parole even after the deaths of his wife and child. However, the Jashore district administration stated that no parole application had been submitted.

BCL leader Saddam was arrested by police in Gopalganj in April 2025. He is currently detained in Jashore jail in connection with 11 cases, two as a named accused and the others as a suspect.

His family attempted to secure parole.

Speaking about this, Saddam’s younger brother Shahidul Islam said their uncle, Hemayet Uddin, applied to the district administration for Saddam’s parole so he could see his wife and child for the last time.

However, as Saddam was detained in a jail outside the district, the local administration had no authority. On their advice, the family took the bodies to the jail gate on Saturday evening. Authorities allowed a five-minute.

Speaking about the parole, Hemayet Uddin told Prothom Alo that he first went to the Bagerhat deputy commissioner’s (DC) office. As it was Friday, the office was closed. He later submitted a written application at the DC’s residence. After speaking to the jail superintendent, he was informed that the matter was not covered under their legal authority.

“We repeatedly asked if there was any way. I was told ‘if the inmate were in Bagerhat, we could’ve released him on parole.’ Then we went to the jail super in Bagerhat. He said, ‘Look, the inmate is in Jashore. We can’t do that. You may try one last thing - you can take the bodies to Jashore jail for a final viewing. No one told us about submitting an application to Jashore for parole,” he said.

Bagerhat DC Golam Md Baten said he learned of the issue through the jail superintendent while he was busy with election duties.

“They were informed that the application needed to be submitted to the Jashore district magistrate. Since the prisoner was not in a Bagerhat jail, we had no authority to grant parole,” he said, citing the Parole Policy (2016).

The Jashore DC’s media cell issued a statement titled ‘Correct information regarding media reports on parole release following the death of a prisoner’s wife and child’.

It said Saddam was transferred from Bagerhat jail to Jashore Central Jail on 15 December 2025 and that no application for parole had been submitted to the Jashore district magistrate or jail authorities.

The statement also said that viral Facebook posts claiming letters or prison photos were unrelated to Jashore Central Jail, and that claims of parole being denied after application were false. The family’s oral request was accommodated on humanitarian grounds by allowing a viewing at the jail gate.

Jashore DC Ashiq Hasan later said the same to Prothom Alo.

Bagerhat sadar police officer-in-charge Md Masum Khan said Kaniz’s father had filed a murder case naming unknown persons. Decisions would be made after the post-mortem report is received.

Those involved in the inquest and autopsy said there were no injury marks on Kaniz’s body. Water was found in the child’s brain and lungs.

Assistant inspector general of prisons Md Jannat-ul Farhad said there was no negligence by prison authorities. Speaking to newspersons at Kashimpur Jail in Gazipur on Sunday, he said parole decisions are made by district magistrates, not prisons.

“The prison department implements parole orders. When we receive an order, we hand the prisoner over to the police for a specified time. Once the parole period ends, the prisoner is returned to our custody,” he said.