Inspector General (Prison) Syed Md. Motaher Hossain dreams of turning prisoners into assets before sending them to their families.
“Nobody was born as criminal rather he/she involves in crimes being influenced by the surroundings. My efforts will be on to turn the prisoners as asset and bring them back to a disciplined life before sending them to their families,” he said in an interview with the Bangladesh Post.
Hossain, who took the helm of prion on August 11, said that he would turn the Department of Prison a service-oriented one.
“It is a new experience for me. I will do whatever is necessary for the development of the prison,” he said.
He took charge of the prison at a time of political ‘unrest’ following the fall of Awami League government led by Sheikh Hasina amid a mass upsurge.
The new interim government led by Dr Muhammad Yunus is making a reshuffle in the administration aiming at ensuring better services to the people, who are the ultimate source of power.When asked whether he is facing any crisis in prions, Hossain said there are 68 prisons in the country. Of them, miscreants carried out attacks on eight prisons including one in Narisingdi, Gazipur High Security Prison and Sathkhira while prison guards staged protests to realise their rights in some other district-level jails.
He said that during the unpleasant incidents, some inmates left the prison through breaking walls while some returned back willingly.
“But, the structures of the buildings have been damaged during the incidents. We have taken measures for repairing those buildings,” he said.
Lauding the role of the prison guards, he said the prison guards put their highest efforts to resist the attackers during that period of time.
“We have to face many more unpleasant incidents if they would not work with the highest effort,” he said.
“Measures have been taken to bring back the looted arms. Some people who have looted arms, have also returned the arms after realising their mistakes,” he said.
Recently, some 209 prisoners fled the Gazipur High Security Prison.
When his attention was drawn on the issue, he refrained from making any comments on security ground.
Asked about the release of Abbas, popularly known as ‘Killer’ Abbas, he said Abbas was released on bail following the legal procedures.
“His (Abbas) sister was present at the jail gate. He was handed over to the family,” he said.
Talking on the overall condition of the prison, he said, “As I am new here, I am just being informed about the demands of the prison guards. Wherever I find problems, I am taking measures to address those immediately.”
“The situation will improve day by day and if there is any the problems will also be addressed with the span of time. I hope I will be able to reach my desired goal with the support of my colleagues,” he said.
