Bangladesh: Awami League leader Proloy Chaki dies in police custody, family blames administration

Proloy Chaki, a musician and leader of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League, died on Sunday night in police custody.

While the administration has dubbed it as a natural death from complications of preexisting conditions, Chaki’s family has accused the administration of negligence and denial of adequate medical care.

Chaki’s death has occurred at a time when Bangladesh is in the grip of a continuing wave of violence targeted at religious and ethnic minorities and political opponents not aligned with the Islamists who have propped interim leader Muhammad Yunus’ regime.

Chaki, 60, died at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital and had been in police custody since his arrest in December, according to The Daily Star.

In December, Chaki was arrested in a case related to an explosion during the weekslong movement in 2024 that ousted Hasina.

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Pabna Jail Superintendent Md Omar Faruk said Chaki had been suffering from multiple health complications, including diabetes and heart disease, as per The Star.

“He suffered a cardiac arrest and was first taken to Pabna General Hospital on Friday. As his condition deteriorated, he was shifted to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital, where he died around 9:00pm (yesterday),” said Faruk.

However, Chaki’s family accused of the family of negligence and inadequate medical care during his detention and said they had to move him to the hospital, as per the newspaper.

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“My father had been suffering from diabetes and heart disease for a long time. His condition worsened in jail, but the authorities did not officially inform us. We rushed to the hospital after being informed by others, but he did not receive proper treatment, which led to his death,” said Sony Chaki, the son of Chaki.

Sony further said his father was arrested despite not being named in any case at the time the police picked him up.

Other than being a popular musician, Chaki had been the cultural affairs secretary of Pabna district unit of the Awami League. He had been a cultural activist since the 1990s.

During the ongoing wave of political violence, mobs have targeted other cultural centres as well, such as museums and memorials of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and cultural group Udichi Shilpigosthi’s office in Dhaka. Mobs have also attacked media organisations and Indian diplomatic missions in the country.