CHATTOGRAM: Chattogram Central Jail inmates have been officially allocated food for the prisoners. The prisoners get these meals three times a day. For each prisoner, the menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner have remained specified.
Lunch is allocated for the prisoners who come to appear before court every day from the Chattogram Central Jail.
According to the prison authorities, 90 gram of flattened rice commonly known as chira and 47 gram of sugarcane jaggery has been allocated as a lunch for a prisoner who appeared in court. The allotment for each prisoner for 90 gram Chira at a rate of Tk 60 kg is Tk 5.41 and at the rate of Tk 67 per KG, Tk 3.40 is allotted for 47 gram of sugarcane jaggery. That is, the government allotment for lunch for a prisoner who comes to court is Tk 8.81.
An average of 400 to 500 prisoners came to the Chattogram court daily to appear before it in the case filed against them. The accused remained in the court custody from 9am to 4pm.
As per rules, the detainees are scheduled to have packets of Chira and Sugarcane molasses with them when they are brought to court from the Chattogram Central Jail at around 8:30 am.
But inmates at the court said the jail authorities never give them packets of Chira and sugarcane jaggery when they were brought to court. Many inmates do not even know about these foods.
But the jail authorities demanded that they send packets of chira and jaggery in the morning while sending the prisoners to court.
Earlier on July 18, Chattogram Central Jail Senior Jail Superintendent Md. Kamal Hossain told Banglanews at his office that for every prisoner who appears in the court, there is a rule to allocate 90 grams of chira and 47 grams of sugarcane jaggery for lunch. In the morning, the prisoners leave for court with the packets of these foods.
The allegations of non-availability of lunch for prisoners were also found true after visiting metro and district custodies in the court.
Police members, who was on duty at the court custody, also said that prison authorities never provided food with the prisoners.
On July 22, several detainees the Chattogram court custody, who unwilling to be named, told Banglanews that they did not get any food from the jail authorities while going to court.
A resident of Sitakunda who has been imprisoned for the last 11 months in a case appears before the court regularly. The prisoner said the jail authorities never provided food during the last 11 months of his court appearance.
Chattogram Central Jail Senior Jail Superintendent Md. Kamal Hossain claimed that the prisoners did not want to take food with them while going to court. They usually leave those.
BDST: 1258 HRS, JULY 30, 2019
RS/SMS
