A ward-level leader of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party died at Dhaka Medical College Hospital in jail custody on Monday, nearly a month after his arrest by the police.
Abul Bashar, 36, was declared dead at about 2:00pm after he was rushed to DMCH from Keraniganj Central Jail, said DMCH police outpost in-charge Bachchu Mia.
Bashar was the secretary of the West Malibagh unit of BNP and used to run grocery businesses there, said his brother Shah Alam.
He said that Bashar was arrested on July 26, two days before the BNP’s grand rally in the capital, in the Malibagh area and handed over to Ramna police station.
Shah Alam said that his brother had a grocery business, but police arrested him in a violence and explosives-related case merely for his involvement with the BNP.
‘My brother was in good health during the arrest and had no major health complications,’ said Shah Alam.
‘We received a call from jail authorities in the morning informing us that Bashar was critically ill and being rushed to Dhaka Medical. Two hours later, the authorities informed us about his death,’ Shah Alam added.
Ramna police station officer-in-charge Abul Hasan said that they had arrested Bashar in a violence case on July 26, and he was sent to jail with the court’s instruction the following day.
Bashar was not placed on police remand, said the OC.
Subhash Kumar Ghosh, senior jail super at the central jail, said that Bashar had some health issues and complained about feeling unwell on Monday morning.
He was taken to DMCH as his condition deteriorated, and he died at the hospital, said the jail official.
The reasons behind the death could not be confirmed before post-mortem examinations, according to the police and jail authorities.
Post-mortem examinations will be conducted in the presence of an executive magistrate, said the police.
