Published : 25 Sep 2026, 03:27 PM
Updated : 25 Sep 2026, 03:27 PM
Gazi Sahlahuddin Tanvir, a former joint member secretary of the National Citizen Party (NCP), has alleged that he was tortured in police custody and prison, including being given dozens of injections without being told what they contained.
Tanvir, who was arrested last month in a case over alleged defamatory Facebook posts about Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, made the allegations at a press conference at the Dhaka Reporters Unity in Segunbagicha on Friday.
“I was given countless injections. I don’t know what they were. I was given at least 70 to 80 injections,” he said.
Tanvir alleged that he suffered persistent fever while in custody and was repeatedly given injections.
“One day my hands and feet were trembling. A doctor came and gave me an injection, and my right arm and right leg went numb,” he said.
He said he was then taken to Shaheed Zia Medical College Hospital in Bogura, where a doctor told him he had suffered a stroke. According to Tanvir, however, prison authorities disputed the diagnosis.
bdnews24.com is seeking a response from police to his allegations.
Tanvir was arrested in Dhaka’s East Monipur on Aug 5 in a case filed under the Cyber Security Act over allegations that he posted objectionable and defamatory content about the prime minister on Facebook.
HS Mafutun Ahmed Khan, president of the BNP’s Bogura Sadar Thana unit, had filed the case on Aug 2.
Tanvir was subsequently taken to Bogura, where police secured his remand for interrogation on Aug 10.
‘Rotten Food, Unknown Medicine’
Tanvir alleged that his mistreatment began when he was taken to prison on Aug 5.
“Everyone was given good food because it was July Mass Uprising Day, but I was given food that was two days old and rotten,” he said.
He claimed that he was regularly served stale or rotten food and later developed diarrhoea.
Tanvir said he was taken to Shaheed Zia Medical College Hospital for treatment but was not given the medicine prescribed by a doctor.
“Instead, I was made to take unknown medicine that had been removed from its packaging,” he alleged.
He said he underwent a CT scan but was not shown the results. Prison authorities told him there was “no problem”, he claimed.
Tanvir said he was later sent for an MRI despite being told that the hospital’s machine was not working.
“While I was inside, there was a loud noise and the machine stopped,” he said. “I became paralysed from the waist down.”
Tanvir added that he then lost consciousness for 10 to 12 hours and woke up in the hospital’s prison cell.
He said he was subsequently brought to Dhaka for further treatment.
'Torture By Men in Plain Clothes'
Tanvir said he was held in poor conditions at Keraniganj jail before being brought to PG Hospital for treatment.
He alleged that several men in plain clothes entered the prison vehicle as he was being taken back after seeing a doctor and tortured him.
According to Tanvir, one of the men referred to Bashundhara Group and accused him of having spoken disrespectfully about its owner.
“I was tortured while the names of Bashundhara owner Ahmed Akbar Sobhan and his son [Sayem Sobhan] Anvir were mentioned,” he alleged.
Tanvir questioned how people outside the prison system could allegedly gain access to a prisoner in custody.
He provided no evidence at the press conference establishing who the men were or whether they had any connection to the people he named.
‘Taken to a Dark Room’
Tanvir further alleged that he was repeatedly taken from his prison cell to a dark room and tortured.
He claimed his alleged torturers mentioned Nasiruddin Patwary, Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan and Salahuddin Ammar by name and threatened that “everyone from July” would face similar treatment.
Tanvir also alleged that he saw Awami League leaders and activists receiving preferential treatment in prison.
“They were living like kings in prison. They talked on the phone, ate good food and regularly met their families,” he said.
He further claimed that some Awami League leaders were taken out of the prison in vehicles at night and returned at dawn.
Tanvir offered no independent evidence to substantiate those allegations.
‘Threatened Over Speaking Out’
Tanvir alleged that he was subjected to “extreme torture” in police custody and prison between Aug 5 and Sept 15.
He claimed he was warned that members of his family would be forcibly disappeared if he spoke publicly about the alleged abuse.
“Even so, I have come before you to tell the truth,” he said. “I fear no one but Allah.”
Tanvir also alleged that practices associated with the government of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina remained within the state apparatus.
“The dark shadow of the era of the murderous fascist Hasina remains exactly as it was before,” he said.
Allegations over Prison Conditions
Recalling his arrival at Bogura jail, Tanvir said he was placed in an “extremely dirty” cell without adequate light, ventilation, electricity or a fan.
He also accused some prison guards of being aligned with the Awami League and said they called him a “July militant”.
Tanvir alleged that other prisoners, whom he described as Awami League members facing criminal cases, also verbally abused him.
The authorities have yet to respond to the allegations. bdnews24.com is trying to obtain a statement from police.
