Abrar murder accused Muntasir among 146 who fled Kashimpur jail

Following the student-people's uprising, Muntasir Al Jemi (26), death row convict of BUET student, Abrar Fahad murder case, is among the fugitives who escaped from Kashimpur High-Security Central Prison in Gazipur on 6 August.

His prisoner number is 5177, and he is originally from Kendua upazila in Netrokona district.

Regarding this matter, Abdullah Al Mamun, Jail Superintendent of Kashimpur High-Security Central Prison, told Prothom Alo that all the escaped individuals were either sentenced to death or life imprisonment. Among the fugitives, apart from one convict from the Abrar murder case, there are no other individuals linked to widely discussed cases.

According to police and prison authorities, a total of 199 prisoners, all sentenced to either death or life imprisonment, escaped from Kashimpur prison following the student-people's uprising.

Among them, 53 individuals have either voluntarily returned or have been apprehended, while the remaining 146 fugitives are still at large.

According to police and prison authorities, on 6 August, prisoners attempted to escape by creating chaos within the prison. As per prison regulations, they were initially warned while authorities attempted to control the disorder and riot. However, the inmates engaged in violence, severely injuring 25 to 30 prison guards.

At one stage, they broke down a portion of the prison wall and uprooted an electric pole to make a ladder, which they used to climb over the wall and escape. When measures were taken in accordance with prison regulations to contain the disorder and riot, six inmates were killed.

Following the escape of the prisoners, on 15 August, Md Lutfor Rahman, jailer of Kashimpur High security prison, filed a case with Konabari police station in Gazipur. Subsequently, 53 fugitives were apprehended from various locations across the country and handed over to Konabari police.

On Monday evening, Abrar Fahad’s younger brother, Abrar Faiyaz, who is also a student of BUET, mentioned the escape of Muntasir Al Jemi in a Facebook post. He wrote, “Jemi, a death row convict in the Abrar Fahad murder case, escaped from prison after 5 August. However, we are only being informed today, at a time when his lawyer has not appeared to present any arguments.”

“A death row convict is supposed to be held in a condemned cell, how he managed to escape! The fact that this information remained concealed even after his escape proves that no effort was made to capture him. Additionally, three other convicts have already been missing,” he added.

On the night of 7 October 2019, a group of leaders and activists from the Bangladesh Chhatra League brutally beat and killed Abrar Fahad, a second-year student at BUET. On 8 December 2021, the court sentenced 20 BUET students to death for their involvement in the murder. Additionally, five other students were sentenced to life imprisonment.

Sub-inspector (SI) Rafiqul Islam, the investigating officer of the case filed at Kashimpur police station, told Prothom Alo, “So far, we have managed to arrest 53 individuals. Our operations to catch the remaining fugitives are ongoing.”