Detained Chhatra League Leader Granted Brief Parole for Father’s Funeral

A former student activist affiliated with the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) was temporarily released from custody on Saturday to attend his father’s final rites in Natore. Rakibul Hasan James, who previously served as the president of the BCL Natore district unit, was granted a strict two-hour window on parole to participate in the funeral prayer and subsequent burial before being escorted back to prison.

The emergency release was sanctioned following the passing of his father, Abul Kalam Azad, who died on Saturday afternoon after battling health complications. Seeking permission on humanitarian grounds, the family promptly submitted an application to the district authorities requesting temporary custody release. Upon receiving administrative approval, law enforcement arranged a secure police escort for James to visit his family residence and local mosque.

The funeral prayer (janazah) took place at approximately 9:00 pm at the Bura Darga Mosque, located in the Boro Gacha area of Natore town. Attended by relatives, local acquaintances, and community members, the service was conducted amidst tight police security. Following the conclusion of the ritual and the final interment at the neighbouring cemetery, law enforcement officers immediately returned James to Natore District Jail.

Confirming the procedure, Mansur Rahman, Officer-in-Charge of Natore Sadar Police Station, stated that the temporary release was executed strictly within the sanctioned two-hour timeframe to allow the detainee to bid farewell to his deceased father.

James had been taken into police custody on the night of 21 June from his ancestral home in Boro Gacha. Local accounts indicate that he had been staying away from the locality following the widespread political realignments and unrest that transpired across Bangladesh after 5 August 2024. He had briefly returned to the area to care for his ailing father prior to his arrest in connection with pending political cases.

Under Bangladeshi judicial and penal administration protocols, short-term parole for incarcerated individuals to attend the funerals of first-degree relatives remains a discretionary legal mechanism managed by district magistrates and prison authorities.