Tareque Sayeed in condemned cell, served food like other prisoners

Former commanding officer of RAB 11 lieutenant colonel (sacked) Tareque Sayeed Mohammad used to enjoy a comfortable life and eat homemade foods in prison despite being one of the death row convicts in the Narayangaj seven-number case.

This has changed since the fall of the Awami League government on 5 August by the student-people's mass uprising, and the sacked army official now lives in a condemned cell of the Cumilla Central Jail, no longer have a ‘separate’ arrangement and eats foods as served for other prisoners.

Sunday, 27 April marked the 11 years of the sensational seven murders that took place in Narayangaj in 2014. Five people, including then-Narayangaj City Corporation panel mayor Nazrul Islam, were abducted from the Dhaka-Narayanganj Link Road on 27 April 2014. Chandan Sarkar, lawyer of Nazrul Islam, and Md Ibrahim, driver of the lawyer, were also abducted after they saw that panel mayor being kidnapped.

Three day later, six bodies were recovered from the Shitalakshya River on 30 April, and another body in the following day. The deceased were Nazrul, Chandan, Ibrahim, Nazrul’s friend Moniruzzaman Sawpon, Tajul Islam, Liton and driver Jahangir Alam.

Two cases were filed over the seven murders. The Narayanganj court sentenced 26 people to death and nine to jail in various terms on 16 January 2016. The convicts appealed to the High Court against the verdicts. The top court then upheld death sentence to 15 people and commuted capital punishment of 11 to life in prison. The High Court also upheld the sentence of nine others facing various terms in jail. The defence appealed against the High Court’s verdict, which are pending at the court.

Death row convicts stay in condemned cells or solitary confinement, follow a code of conduct different from other prisoners. Tareque Sayeed now stays at one such condemned cell in Cumilla Central Jail.

Jailer Md Abdullahhil Al-Amin said trial proceedings of the case in which Tareque Sayeed got death penalty is pending at the Appellate Division. Sometimes, jail physicians run his health checks up at the condemned cell. Family members get to meet him on certain days of month, but no food brought by family is allowed. The foods that other inmates are served are also provided to Tareque Sayeed in the condemned cell.

Ruti (bread) and vegetables are served for breakfast; rice, vegetable and lentils for lunch, and rice, vegetable, fish and lentils are provided for dinner, he added.

The other death row convicts are former company condemner major (sacked) Arif Hossain, Lieutenant Commander (sacked) MM Rana and former council and expelled Awami League leader Nur Hossain.

MM Rana is now in condemned cell of the Kashimpur Central Jail-2, senior jail supervisor Al Mamun confirmed the matter to Prothom Alo.

Arif is in condemned cell of the Kashimpur High Security Central Jail-4.