For about a week now, the authorities at the Kashimpur high security jail in Gazipur are renovating and repairing the two VIP buildings in the female section of the prison.
These two special blocks – Rajanigandha 1 and Rajanigandha 2 – each comprising six rooms are generally used for housing high profile political prisoners.
Although authorities said it was just routine work, the matter has been fuelling a rumour that BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, who has been holed up in her Gulshan office for a month and a half, might be arrested at any time.
On Monday, she was sued for the crude bomb blasts in a procession led by Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan in Gulshan. She was then inside the office about half a kilometre away from the spot, but the 69-year-old three-time former prime minister was charged with conducting the blasts.
Although Khaleda has been tagged in a couple of other violence-related cases over the last month or so, none of those cases made her the prime accused; her name came up only as an abettor.
According to the jail authorities, the female section is capable of holding up to 200 prisoners. At present, there are 257 inmates in Kashimpur but the authorities have never used the two VIP blocks despite the overcrowding in the general section.
The last VIP prisoner to have dwelled in one of these cells is former BNP lawmaker Shammi Akhter; she was released on bail on January 22 last year. Since then, the VIP blocks have remained unused.
The two two-storey blocks now have new colours and new furniture have been recently brought in. The utility connections to the buildings have also been repaired recently to ensure uninterrupted power and water, prison sources said.
Once before in December last year, the Kashimpur high security jail saw renovation works before Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina went there on the occasion of the National Prison Week.
Seeking anonymity, a high official from the prison authorities said the renovation works are going on for an something “very urgent.”
When contacted, Umme Salma, jail super of the female section at the prison, told the Dhaka Tribune: “No renovation work is going on here. Some repairing are being done as part of a routine work in the jail. We do these kind of works regularly.”
She also denied having received any special instruction from the higher authorities.