Recent deaths in police and prison custody in Bangladesh have once again exposed a crisis that the new administration has failed to resolve. Whether under the fallen Awami League government, the interim administration, or the current Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led government, custodial deaths have remained a recurring stain on Bangladesh's justice system. After the 2024 mass uprising, governments changed, and citizens hoped for sweeping reforms in the way the state uses law enforcement agencies to serve its interests. Since the British colonial era, Bangladesh has had a long history of governments using law enforcement agencies to undermine the political opposition and target those who criticise them.

The Bangladesh Police is largely governed by the Police Act of 1861, an archaic framework enacted during the British colonial period to control the local population and suppress dissent rather than serve and protect citizens. Although British colonial rule has ended, the laws enacted during that era remain in force, and governments continue to use them as tools to oppress their own citizens.

The recent custodial deaths of Bangladesh Awami League activists Mirza Ishtiaq Ahmed Pranto in Faridpur and Nurul Alam in Chattogram illustrate this troubling reality. Both reportedly appeared healthy when taken into custody and died within a day. Their families allege torture, while the authorities attribute the deaths to illness or natural causes. Every custodial death raises the same uncomfortable questions because the pattern has repeated itself for decades.

Local and international human rights organisations have consistently expressed concern about deaths in prisons and police custody under successive governments in Bangladesh. According to data from the human rights organisation Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), at least 61 people died in prison custody and four in police custody during the first six months of 2026. The organisation recorded 116 deaths in prison custody and at least 11 in police custody in 2025. Another organisation, the Foundation for Human Rights Culture, reports that 542 people died in prison custody and 77 in police custody in Bangladesh over the six-year period from 2021 to 2026.

Custodial deaths have become a structural failure rooted in weak accountability, inadequate prison healthcare and an entrenched culture of impunity. This continuity should concern every citizen, regardless of political preference. Human rights cannot be reserved for political allies or denied to political opponents. The principle of justice loses its meaning when public opinion determines who deserves legal protection. If the state's power to abuse remains unchecked, no one can confidently claim immunity.

Unfulfilled Expectations After 2024 Uprising

The political transition following the July 2024 uprising created enormous expectations. Millions of Bangladeshis demanded an end to authoritarian practices, arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances and custodial abuse. The movement was fundamentally about restoring accountability and rebuilding public trust in state institutions. Many believed that a new political environment would naturally produce a more humane justice system. Unfortunately, the persistence of custodial deaths suggests otherwise.

Changing elected leaders without reforming institutions allows the same patterns to continue. People who disagree with the state remain vulnerable to oppression by the same state machinery. Police forces, prison administrations, investigative agencies and judicial oversight mechanisms require long-term structural reforms. Without these reforms, old practices will persist under the new BNP government led by Tarique Rahman.

Bangladesh already possesses a legal framework designed to address these abuses. The Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act of 2013 was considered one of South Asia's significant human rights laws when it was enacted. The legislation criminalises torture by public officials and provides severe penalties when torture results in death. The Constitution similarly guarantees the right to life and personal liberty and protection against cruel or degrading treatment. The challenge, therefore, is not the absence of law but its consistent implementation.

Prison Healthcare and Independent Investigations

Bangladesh's prison healthcare system also faces severe structural deficiencies that place inmates at significant risk, even in the absence of deliberate abuse. Official figures reveal shortages of doctors across the country's prisons, with only a handful of full-time physicians serving dozens of correctional facilities. Many prisons lack ambulances for emergency transportation. Modern diagnostic equipment purchased years ago reportedly remains unused because qualified personnel are unavailable to operate it.

Prisoners remain entirely dependent on the state for medical care. Unlike free citizens, they cannot choose another hospital, seek a specialist or call an ambulance themselves. Delayed treatment, inadequate staffing or unavailable equipment may become the difference between life and death. Even prisoners convicted of serious crimes retain the constitutional right to necessary medical care. For detainees awaiting trial, who remain legally presumed innocent, the state's obligation is even greater.

Political polarisation has further complicated public discussion of custodial deaths. Too often, sympathy depends on the political identity of the deceased rather than on the principle involved. When a victim belongs to an opposing political camp, public outrage frequently becomes muted or disappears altogether. This selective concern undermines universal human rights.

One of the most troubling aspects of custodial death cases is the investigation process itself. Frequently, the same institution accused of wrongdoing conducts the initial investigation. While many officers undoubtedly perform their duties professionally, investigations that lack institutional independence inevitably struggle to earn public confidence. Justice must not only be done; it must also be seen to be done.

Bangladesh needs independent investigations into every custodial death, conducted by bodies that are institutionally separate from the agencies involved. Forensic reports should be completed promptly and released transparently whenever legally appropriate. Surveillance systems inside detention facilities should be strengthened, and body-worn cameras should become standard during arrests and interrogations. Medical examinations should be independently documented both upon entry into custody and before any transfer between facilities.

Equally important is strengthening the National Human Rights Commission or establishing another genuinely independent oversight mechanism capable of investigating allegations against law enforcement agencies without political interference.

Professional training must also evolve. Modern policing depends not only on crime control but also on respect for constitutional rights. Officers who understand that accountability strengthens rather than weakens public trust are more likely to perform their duties effectively. A justice system built on transparency ultimately benefits both citizens and law enforcement personnel.

A Test of Bangladesh's Democratic Future

The families of those who die in custody deserve more than official statements promising inquiries. They deserve credible investigations, timely answers and, where wrongdoing is established, meaningful accountability. Without justice, suspicion will continue to surround every custodial death, regardless of the actual cause.

To what extent has the current BNP government been able to realise the vision that drove the 2024 mass uprising in Bangladesh? Will the BNP government, too, manipulate state mechanisms and law enforcement agencies to serve its own interests, much like the previous Sheikh Hasina regime, to suppress the opposition and silence critics? The government must therefore take serious steps to amend police laws and prevent deaths in police custody. This is one of the crucial reforms facing the administration.

Reforming the institutions responsible for custodial safety should be viewed as part of that national journey rather than as a partisan issue. The promise of a democratic Bangladesh cannot rest solely on competitive elections or changes in political leadership. It must also be measured by whether every citizen, regardless of accusation or political identity, returns alive from state custody unless lawfully sentenced through due process.

Until custodial deaths become genuinely rare, are thoroughly investigated, and result in consistent punishment when misconduct is proven, Bangladesh's promise of justice will remain incomplete. Ending this culture is not simply a legal obligation; it is a moral imperative and a defining test of the country's democratic future.

(The author is a US-based Bangladeshi visual journalist and geopolitical analyst. The views expressed are personal)