Dhaka, December 2025 — When Wasiqur Rahman Babu was escorted out of his cell at Kashimpur Central Jail-2 on December 21, he was preparing to be handed over to police for interrogation under a court-approved remand order. Moments later, the 43-year-old Awami League leader collapsed at the jail gate. He was rushed to Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Medical College Hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead.
Prison authorities said Babu died of a sudden heart attack. Al Mamun, superintendent of Kashimpur Central Jail-2, told reporters that Babu “collapsed at the prison gate while being handed over to police for remand” and showed no signs of external injury at the time.
The explanation, however, has been disputed by Babu’s family and party colleagues, who say he had no known history of severe cardiac illness and had complained of physical discomfort in the days leading up to his death.
According to the Department of Prisons, Babu was arrested in September in a case filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act and had recently been granted a three-day remand by a Dhaka court. Jannatul Farhad, Assistant Inspector General (Prisons), confirmed that Babu “died while in prison custody during remand proceedings” and said legal formalities were being followed after the death.
A pattern beyond a single death
Babu’s death has renewed scrutiny of a growing pattern of custodial deaths involving Awami League leaders and activists since Bangladesh’s political transition in August 2024. In nearly every case, authorities have cited “sudden illness,” “cardiac arrest,” or “age-related complications” as the cause of death.
In October 2025, Ahmed Mostafa Khan Bachchu, an 80-year-old district-level Awami League president, died while in detention in Sirajganj. A month later, Murad Hossain, a former Dhaka city councillor, died in Kashimpur High-Security Prison. Earlier in the year, Imam Hossain Babu, a 44-year-old Swechchhasebak League leader, died in Cumilla Central Jail after reportedly falling ill in custody.
One of the most controversial cases involved former minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun, who died in September 2025 while receiving hospital treatment after contracting dengue. Images showing him handcuffed to a hospital bed circulated widely on social media, prompting public outrage and condemnation from rights groups. Prison officials said the restraints were applied as part of “security protocol,” a claim rejected by Humayun’s family.
Families allege neglect, demand transparency
Families of the deceased consistently say their relatives were in stable condition at the time of arrest. Several allege that repeated requests for medical attention were ignored or delayed, particularly during periods of police remand.
The Bangladesh Awami League, in an official statement issued after Babu’s death, described the incident as “deeply suspicious” and called for an independent judicial investigation into what it termed “a growing number of deaths of party leaders and activists in custody.”
Parvez Hasem, a lawyer and human rights activist, told The Voice that even in the absence of physical torture, failure to provide timely and adequate medical care constitutes a serious custodial violation. “Under both domestic law and international conventions, the state bears absolute responsibility for the lives of individuals in its custody,” he said.
Rising numbers, widening concern
According to data compiled by rights groups, at least 30 Awami League politicians died in state custody between August 2024 and late 2025. A report released in July 2025 listed 24 such deaths within less than a year. By October, the number had surpassed 30, and by December the toll had continued to climb.
The victims span the country and cut across age groups — from veteran local leaders in their 60s and 70s to student activists in their 20s.
Data published by the legal rights organization Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) show a sharp rise in custodial deaths in 2025. Between January and October alone, 28 accused individuals died in custody across Bangladesh, with the highest concentration in Dhaka division, where many political detainees are held. By comparison, ASK recorded 11 custodial or extrajudicial deaths during the same period in 2023, prior to the political transition.
The broader human rights climate has also deteriorated. Odhikar, another rights watchdog, reported more than 40 extrajudicial killings during the first 14 months of interim rule, including 14 deaths attributed to torture in custody and seven caused by beatings by security forces.
Custodial Deaths of Awami League Leaders (Aug 2024–Dec 2025)
Key figures:
-
30+ Awami League leaders and activists died in state custody since August 2024
-
24 deaths recorded within the first 11 months (Aug 2024–July 2025)
-
28 custodial deaths nationwide between January–October 2025 alone
-
Dhaka division accounts for the highest number of deaths
-
No confirmed prosecution of prison or police officials linked to these cases
Allegations of torture and neglect
Surviving family members and colleagues of deceased detainees uniformly reject official accounts of natural death. In case after case, they have offered testimonies suggesting that abuse or neglect — not sudden illness — led to the fatalities.
Torture during remand interrogations is a recurring allegation. The family of Joynal Abedin Jony, a Jubo League organizer who died on October 9, 2025 while being transferred from prison, said he was severely tortured in custody. Jony was kept in a prison hospital for several days as his condition deteriorated. Police allegedly delayed transferring him to a cardiac institute, and he died en route after an ambulance diverted to a nearer facility.
“There were signs of torture all over his body,” said a relative of Farzad Hossain Sajib, a Swechchhasebak League activist from Chattogram who reportedly died of a heart attack on April 25, 2025. Sajib’s family said they received a phone call from jail officials shortly before his death demanding money and claiming he had been involved in a violent altercation. Minutes later, another call said he had suddenly fallen ill, raising suspicions of foul play.
In Cumilla, relatives of Imam Hossain Bachchu allege that his condition worsened after an assault inside a courthouse, where rival activists aligned with the ruling authorities allegedly attacked him in plain view. He was returned to jail and later died under unexplained circumstances.
Denial of timely medical care is another recurring complaint. Humayun’s son told local media that prison authorities initially refused to send his father for specialized dengue treatment. When Humayun was finally admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, he was reportedly left on the floor due to a shortage of beds and remained shackled even after death — a practice human rights veteran Nur Khan Liton condemned as “the most extreme breach of dignity for a dying prisoner.”
At least five detainees are reported to have died in the past year after alleged neglect of treatable illnesses such as dengue or asthma. In Bogura, multiple local Awami League activists died of cardiac arrest in jail. Their families say prison officials ignored worsening symptoms and delayed hospital transfers as a form of what they described as “planned negligence and revenge.”
“Crucially, nearly all these deaths remain shrouded in impunity and unanswered questions,” said Advocate Parvez Hasem. “Officials typically claim that autopsies were conducted or will be conducted, but findings are rarely made public beyond perfunctory explanations such as ‘heart failure.’ No custodial death since 2024 has resulted in any prison or police official being held accountable.”
Timeline of Notable Custodial Deaths
-
August 2024
Political transition begins; mass arrests of Awami League leaders and activists follow. -
April 25, 2025
Farzad Hossain Sajib, Swechchhasebak League activist (Chattogram), dies in custody. Family alleges signs of torture. -
July 2025
Rights groups report 24 Awami League detainees dead in custody within less than a year. -
September 2025
Former minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun dies while under hospital custody after contracting dengue. Images of him handcuffed to a hospital bed spark outrage. -
October 9, 2025
Joynal Abedin Jony, Jubo League organizer, dies during transfer from prison after alleged torture and delayed medical care. -
October 2025
Ahmed Mostafa Khan Bachchu, 80, district Awami League president, dies in detention in Sirajganj. -
November 2025
Murad Hossain, former Dhaka city councillor, dies at Kashimpur High-Security Prison. -
December 21, 2025
Wasiqur Rahman Babu, 43, Awami League leader, collapses and dies at Kashimpur Central Jail-2 while being handed over for police remand.
Legal safeguards, weak enforcement
Bangladesh’s constitution guarantees the right to life and explicitly prohibits torture. The Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act of 2013 mandates criminal investigations into deaths occurring in custody.
Rights organizations say enforcement of the law remains weak. Despite numerous custodial deaths since 2024, there has been no publicly reported prosecution or disciplinary action against senior prison or law-enforcement officials linked to the cases.
Bangladesh is also a signatory to the Convention Against Torture and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, both of which require independent, transparent investigations into every custodial death. Rights monitors say those obligations are routinely violated in practice.
Political context: mass arrests and remand culture
The custodial deaths are unfolding amid a sweeping crackdown on the Awami League following its removal from power. After August 2024, the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus banned the party’s political activities and launched mass arrests.
Legal observers report that thousands of party leaders and activists have been detained under overlapping cases, often rearrested immediately after securing bail. Extended police remand — long criticized by rights groups as enabling abuse — has again become a central concern.
Several of the deceased, including Babu, died either during remand proceedings or immediately before remand was to begin, intensifying scrutiny of custodial practices.
Government response and mounting pressure
The interim government has rejected allegations of systematic abuse, maintaining that deaths in custody are isolated incidents linked to health conditions, overcrowding, and strained prison infrastructure. Officials say medical care is provided “as required.”
Critics argue that such explanations are no longer credible.
Legal analysts warn that the absence of independent investigations risks eroding public confidence in the justice system, particularly as Bangladesh approaches a sensitive electoral period. International observers are increasingly monitoring custodial deaths as a measure of the country’s broader human rights trajectory.
A test of accountability
For families like that of Wasiqur Rahman Babu, the issue is no longer political — it is deeply personal.
They are demanding access to medical records, preservation of CCTV footage, and investigations conducted by bodies independent of prison and police authorities. Without such steps, rights advocates warn, custodial deaths will continue to be dismissed as unfortunate anomalies rather than addressed as potentially preventable failures of the state.
As Bangladesh navigates an uncertain political transition, the growing list of custodial deaths has become a stark test of whether the rule of law applies equally — even to those on the losing side of power — or whether accountability ends at the prison gate.
