Dhaka, Dec 22 As custodial deaths of Awami League members rise in Bangladesh, another party leader died while being transferred for remand from Kashimpur Central Jail in Gazipur district, local media reported on Monday, citing prison authorities.
The deceased, identified as 43-year-old Wasiqur Rahman Babu, hailed from Tungipara upazila in the Gopalganj district and served as youth and sports secretary of Badda Thana Awami League.
Kashimpur Central Jail-2 Superintendent Al Mamun claimed that Babu died of a heart attack.
He added that a police team arrived at the jail on Sunday afternoon to take Babu into custody for questioning.
The Awami League leader was reportedly seated in the prison's admissions wing, while the formal handover process was carried out.
"At that point, he suddenly fell from the chair and collapsed," Bangladesh's leading newspaper, The Daily Star, quoted the jail superintendent as saying.
Reports suggest that Babu was rushed to Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Medical College Hospital in Gazipur, where doctors at the emergency department pronounced him dead.
According to the jail authorities, Babu was arrested on September 24 under the country's Anti-Terrorism Act in connection with alleged participation in a procession in Dhaka's Panthapath area and was moved to Kashimpur Central Jail-2 three days later.
A court subsequently approved a three-day police remand.
Last week, Bangladesh's interim government Home Affairs Advisor Jahangir Alam Chowdhury directed police to arrest members of the Awami League on sight, without verifying whether cases have been registered against them, local media reported.
This comes against the backdrop of an intensifying crackdown on Awami League leaders under the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government.
The Awami League has consistently slammed the Yunus-led interim government over the intensifying crackdown on its party members and supporters and turning the country into a "dumping ground of dead bodies".
Slamming the Yunus regime, the party alleged that the indiscriminate killings of Awami League leaders and activists across the country were carried out under a pre-planned blueprint.
The Awami League further asserted that its leaders and activists continue to fall victim to targeted killings.
Bangladesh has been gripped by widespread violence since the ouster of the democratically elected Sheikh Hasina government, with arson attacks targeting Awami League offices and the homes of its leaders across the country.
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