Govt considering reducing life imprisonment term: Home Adviser

Home Adviser Lieutenant General (Retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury today said the government is considering reducing the life imprisonment term to a reasonable period from 30 years aimed at releasing older prisoners.

"According to the Penal Code of 1860, the term of life imprisonment in Bangladesh is currently 30 years. We are considering reducing the years to a reasonable period. But nothing has yet been finalized to this end," he said.

The Home Adviser said this while speaking to journalists after coming out of the Core Committee meeting on law and order at the Home Ministry in Bangladesh Secretariat here.

He said that considering age, the term of life imprisonment for women can be 20 years and for men a little longer.

However, he said that the provision of life imprisonment will depend on the age of the accused at the time of sentencing.

"The provision has not been finalized yet," he said.

The meeting discussed various issues including police training, preparation for the upcoming parliamentary elections, steps to prevent kidnapping, theft and robbery, stopping drug entry through the border, overall preparations for the upcoming Durga Puja, recovery of looted weapons, and RAKSU and CHAKSU elections.

Senior Secretary of the Home Ministry Nasimul Ghani and Inspector General of Police (IGP) Baharul Alam, among others, were present during the briefing.