The department of prisons has started a probe as to how the irregularities and corruption of the prisons get revealed to the journalists and news media.
The prison authorities have formed a three-man probe body to investigate how the video footage of the Hallmark group general manager Tushar Ahmed spending time with a woman illegally inside Kashimpur jail-1 and the documents of prison authorities were published in news media. Such a probe body was never formed before.
Inspector general of prisons Brigadier General Md Mominur Rahman Mamun formed the probe body on 31 January.
Asked about the reason to form such a committee, additional IG prisons Abrar Hossain told Prothom Alo, “It was illegal to arrange the meet-up inside the prisons but it’s a serious crime to leak out the footage. It’s necessary to unearth how the footage went out. We will find it out and take action accordingly.”
Replying to a question regarding the peoples’ rights to know what is going on inside the prisons, Abrar said, “Why will my officials hand over the documents on what is going on inside my prison?”
“The journalists can stay inside the prison if I can’t restrict what is going on inside the prison,” he added.
Deputy inspector general of Jashore prison Md Sogir Mia leads the committee. Kashimpur high security prison’s senior jail superintendent Md Gias Uddin and Faridpur district prison’s jail super Al Masum are other members of the probe body.
The letter on the probe body asked the members to submit a report on how the footage of the meeting of Hallmark GM was obtained by Channel 24 and other news channels and how the official documents of prisons went to different news media including Prothom Alo.
Some officials of the prison department have expressed their dissatisfaction over the forming of such a committee. The decision also irked some home ministry officials.
Condemning the move, Transparency International Bangladesh’s (TIB) executive director Ifthekharuzzaman told Prothom Alo that it is a violation of the journalists right to do their professional duty and people's right to know information.
He said the authorities have instigated wrongdoings by forming the committee.
They emphasise more on controlling free flow of information rather than controlling irregularities and crime, he added.