Six shot dead as 209 flee Kashimpur central jail

GAZIPUR, Aug 7 (Agencies): Six inmates of Kashimpur central jail in Gazipur were shot dead by security personnel while 209 others managed to flee on Tuesday.

In another incident at least 30 to 40 prisoners have escaped from Kushtia District Jail.

Senior Jail Superintendent of Kashimpur High Security Central Jail Subrata Kumar Bala confirmed the matter on Wednesday.

Bala stated that on Tuesday (August 6), the inmates inside Kashimpur High Security Central Jail rebelled. During the rebellion, the inmates tried to break the prison.

When the prison guards tried to stop them, the inmates attacked the guards and tried to escape by breaking the walls, climbing over the walls, and some even tried to escape by attaching pipes to the walls, he said.

At one point, the army was called in, and they conducted a commando operation to suppress the rebellion.

However, 209 inmates managed to escape by climbing the walls.

At that time, six inmates were killed in security personnel's firing.

The bodies of the deceased have been sent to the morgue of Gazipur Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Medical College Hospital for post-mortem.

After 9:30 AM on Tuesday, members of the army arrived by helicopter and took control of the main gate and all other gates of the prison. Earlier that morning, locals heard extensive gunfire from inside the prison.

In Kushtia: panic spread across the area after the incident of jailbreak around 2:45pm on Wednesday.

Members of the Kushtia army camp took control of the jail gate after being notified about the incident around 3:30pm.

According to a witness, gunshots were fired inside the jail around 2:45pm.

Shortly afterwards, approximately 25 to 30 prisoners were seen rushing out of the prison gates. Commotion could also be heard from inside the jail at the time.

Around 3pm, prison guards took position in front of the main gate while shots were still being fired inside the jail.

Later, around 3:30pm, army personnel took control of the jail gate.

Lieutenant Colonel Mahbubul Alam Shikder, the on-duty army officer, told bdnews24.com: "We were able to reach the jail gates in a short time. We entered the premises to bring the situation under control. Blank shots were fired inside."

"We learned that a few prisoners had escaped, but we do not have the exact number yet. I have asked the jail superintendent to notify me after looking at the attendance sheet."