New Dhaka Central Jail at Keraniganj inaugurated

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has inaugurated the new Dhaka Central Jail built on 31 acres of land at Keraniganj.

The prime minister visited the new prison, which can house 4,590 prisoners, after formally launching it on Sunday.

Built on 31 acres at Tagharia Union’s Dakshin Rajendrapur, it is about 12 km from the currently overcrowded Dhaka Central Jail in Old Dhaka.

Sheikh Hasina was given a guard of honour by a Jail Police contingent when she arrived.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, Home Secretary Mozammel Haque Khan and IG (Prisons) Brig Gen Syed Iftekhar Uddin Ahmed were present at the launching ceremony.

# Six, six-storey buildings for detainees; two similar ones for convicts.

# Each storey has 40 cells, each for keeping 13 inmates. 

# Four cooling fans in every cell with adjoining restrooms.

# Danger cells in four buildings for 400 top offenders

# Sixteen special cells for VIP prisoners

The prison authorities said that the shifting of male inmates from the facility on Old Dhaka’s Nazimuddin Road will start soon.

A separate facility for female inmates, having a capacity to house 270 prisoners, is being constructed near the new one.

The historic old prison in Old Dhaka was set up way back in 1788 and houses inmates three times its capacity of 2,826.

Security at a glance

#An 18-feet tall boundary wall surrounds the compound. 

#The buildings have their own boundaries to keep the prison population separated.  

#Wires on top of the main wall rise another two feet with motion sensors to set off security alarm and deliver electric shock in case of a jail-break attempt.

Inside new Dhaka Central Jail