The Dhaka Central Jail remained open for all on December 17, 1971, the day after Victory Day, as almost all prison officers and guards abandoned their posts and ran away, leaving the prisoners on their own, an official said.
But many prisoners did not leave the jail, despite getting the change to gain their freedom, said Forman Ali, senior superintendent of Dhaka Central Jail.
“Although no documented evidence is available, it has been found – by talking to many officials who were working there then – that a major portion of the prisoners had left the jail, but many others had stayed behind willingly,” Ali told the Dhaka Tribune.
Zahir Uddin Babar, assistant inspector general of prisons, said although the jail administration was not very powerful at the time, there was a section of officials who tried to perform their duties and manage the prisoners who had stayed behind.
According to a witness, all prison officers and warders had fled the jail on December 17, fearing retaliation for collaborating with the Pakistani army during Bangladesh’s Liberation War.
The witness, a writer named “Jatismara” who was incarcerated at the central jail from July 20, 1970 until December 17, 1971, recalled that one of the prisoners, Shah Jahan, had snatched a bunch of keys from a trembling warder, who had dared to show up for work inside the jail that morning.
Shah Jahan then got the warder to unlock all the cells to let the prisoners out, but he asked them to stay in their respective places.
“In the afternoon, a freedom fighter with a gun on his shoulder appeared before us and screamed: ‘Why are you still here? The jail is empty!’” the writer, who was a student activist, said.
The witness also mentioned that only three men in his cell block had refused to leave, saying the jail was there home and they had nowhere else to go.
Forman Ali agreed with the witness’s description. He added that during the war, Nirmal Roy was the jailer and late Shamsur Rahman was his deputy.
“I have tried to talk to Nirmal Roy, but due to his old age, he is too sick and not in a state to discuss things,” said Forman Ali. He also said besides the Dhaka jail, almost all other prisons across the country were opened up and prisoners freed as most jailers and guards had fled during the nine-month war.
“The Comilla Jail was opened to prisoners on April 16. Like Comilla, prisoners in most other jails were also freed,” he said.
The historic Dhaka Central Jail was an old Afghan fort, also known as the Old Fort of Dhaka, built during the rule of Sher Shah Suri. In 1788, Islam Khan, a Mughal subidar, established the army headquarters in a portion of the fort and his office in another part. The fort was later turned into a jail by setting up a criminal ward inside.
The Old Fort was converted to the Dhaka Central Jail in 1820 during British colonial rule.
