Brigadier General Motaher Hossain removed as IG Prisons

Brigadier General Syed Mohammad Motaher Hossain has been withdrawn from the post of Inspector General of Prisons (IG Prisons) and returned to his parent organisation, the Bangladesh Army.

The decision was announced in a gazette notification issued by the Deputation-1 branch of the Ministry of Public Administration on Wednesday (August 19). According to the notification, Bangladesh Army officer BA-4954 Brigadier General Syed Mohammad Motaher Hossain has been withdrawn from his current deputation post and posted back to the Bangladesh Army.

Motaher Hossain assumed charge as IG Prisons on August 11, 2024. During his tenure, allegations recently surfaced that he had provided undue facilities to detained former Awami League ministers and lawmakers. In particular, claims that mobile phones were allowed inside prisons drew public attention.

He rejected the allegations at a press conference on Tuesday. Motaher Hossain stated that more than 3,000 mobile phones had been seized from various prisons across the country over the past year.

He also revealed that of the 2,247 prisoners who escaped from different jails in 2024, 690, including three militants, remain at large. Information on 166 of those who fled from Narsingdi jail is still unavailable, he added.