The historic buildings still stand all right, but their occupants are all gone.

Yesterday marked a new beginning and an end of its history at once. as the authorities shifted all the inmates from the Dhaka Central Jail on Nazimuddin Road to the newly-built central jail in Keraniganj.

Authorities are now planning to set up a training institute, a park and a museum on the premises of the 200-year-old Dhaka jail that once housed so many of history's famous and infamous figures. 

There will also be schools, shopping malls and a museum to preserve the memory of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the four national leaders -- Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmed, M Mansoor Ali and AHM Quamaruzzaman -- all of whom spent times there.

A prison van carrying prisoners from Dhaka Central Jail enters newly built jail facility in Keraniganj on the outskirts of the capital yesterday. The authorities started shifting prisoners from the 200-year-old central jail in the capital's Nazimuddin Road to the new jail inaugurated in April. Photo: Rashed Shumon

It is in this jail that the four national leaders were brutally killed in 1975, months after the assassination of Bangabandhu and most of his family members on August 15 that year.

And it is also where some of the top war criminals were imprisoned and hanged.

The shifting of all the male prisoners started around 6:30am and completed around 9:35pm.

The authorities had earlier shifted the female prisoners, militants and VIPs to Kashimpur Jail as the female unit in Keraniganj is still under construction.

“As many as 6,511 male prisoners have been shifted to the newly-built central jail by 9:00pm,” said Jahangir Kabir, senior jail super of Dhaka Central Jail.

He added 25 additional prison vans from other jails around Dhaka were brought in to shift the prisoners amid tight security.

Inspector General (IG) of Prisons Brig Gen Syed Iftekhar Hossain monitored the transfer process.

Initially, the authorities had planned to complete the shifting today, but because it involves huge security arrangement, they decided to finish the job yesterday.

The IG prison received the prisoners at the new central jail with flowers.

A convoy of prison van under tight security on Mayor Hanif Flyover. Photo: Rashed Shumon

More than 2,000 policemen and border guards were deployed in and around the Dhaka Central Jail to avert any untoward incident and ensure smooth shifting of prisoners.

Earlier in the morning, the IG prison said the Dhaka Central Jail accommodated more than 8,000 prisoners against its capacity of 2,600.

Originally, the prisoners were scheduled to be shifted to the new jail by April, but it was not possible for various reasons, including security matters.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina formally inaugurated the new central jail on April 10.

The prison authorities said the relocation was intended mainly to improve the facilities and living condition of the inmates.

The jail authorities received the land in Keraniganj from the Dhaka deputy commissioner's office in May 2004. They later handed it over to the Public Works Department to construct the structures.

The construction began in 2008.

FACILITIES IN NEW CENTRAL JAIL

The new central jail has been built on 194.41 acres of land for Tk 406 crore.

It has the capacity to accommodate 4,090 prisoners, including 100 male adolescents, 30 mentally challenged male prisoners, 200 woman inmates, 40 female adolescent prisoners and 20 female mentally challenged prisoners.

Besides, 60 classified wards and 400 cells have been constructed for dangerous prisoners.

A 200-bed hospital and a day-care centre would be set up on its premises at Rajendrapur under South Keraniganj adjacent to the Dhaka-Mawa Highway.

According to Banglapedia, the Old Dhaka jail was built on 36.76 acres of land in the eighteenth century.

A “criminal ward” was built in Dhaka in 1788, says the website of the prison authority. Later, the prison was built on Nazimuddin Road which became one of the largest jails in the country.