Published: 12:59 AM, 26 September 2026
Trap at the Prison Gates: How Extortion and 'Shown Arrests' Are Robbing Bail in Bangladesh
Serious allegations have surfaced regarding indiscriminate accused list generation in cases filed across the country over violence during the July mass uprising, and the inability of defendants to secure release even after obtaining bail.
Despite receiving bail from the court, many accused are unable to step out of prison. Right before release following bail, they are shown arrested in other cases. This sequence of events is repeating day after day. While bail exists on paper, reaching the prison gates in reality requires navigating an unwritten, five-tier police clearance process, which has effectively turned into a mechanism for systematic extortion. An analysis of 20 cases from various police stations in the capital revealed these findings.
According to legal experts, under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and Supreme Court precedents, once a court grants bail, executing it is the responsibility of the administration. Unnecessarily detaining a person who has received bail or delaying release by showing them arrested in new cases is a clear violation of the law, which effectively defies court orders. Investigation reveals that after a bail order is issued, it reaches the prison through the Detective Branch (DB) prosecution team and is then forwarded to the relevant police station. The path to release opens only after reports prepared by the Special Branch (SB), DB, and the investigation wing reach the prison again. At every step of this lengthy process, dishonest police personnel and court clerks are engaging in illicit transactions and bribery.
Supreme Court lawyer Farzana Yasmin Ruhi told the media that getting released immediately after securing bail in political cases is not easy. If the police station is not "managed," the accused is not released; instead, they are shown arrested in a new case. Frequently, multiple arrest warrants arrive at the prison simultaneously, halting the entire release process. A businessman arrested from Shahjahanpur Police Station in the capital shared that he was framed in political cases due to a business rivalry. Even though the court granted him bail, his name was repeatedly tagged in new cases. Expressing his frustration, he stated that without paying money to police officers, the entire process lacks transparency, and these irregularities never stop.
Meanwhile, although the interim government amended Section 173-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure to introduce "interim reports" aimed at exempting innocent individuals from cases, extortion has now begun surrounding this process as well. Middlemen and investigating officers are directly or indirectly demanding money in exchange for making favorable recommendations for the accused in these reports. Regarding this matter, Deputy Commissioner (DC) Talebur Rahman of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Media and Public Relations Division stated that if the court grants bail, the accused should be released according to that order. There is no separate requirement for police clearance following bail. If any officer demands money for a release or report, strict action will definitely be taken upon receiving specific complaints.
