When asked on 4 April whether there was any security threat from the fugitives, Additional Inspector General of Police and ATU chief Mohammad Rezaul Karim declined to comment directly.
However, he said, “There is no place for extremism in Bangladesh. The peace-loving people of this country do not support extremism.”
On the evening of 5 August 2024, attackers attacked Kashimpur High Security Central Jail.
They broke down the main gate of the prison and set fire to a storage facility on the third floor. During the attack, 202 prisoners, including nine convicted in extremism-related cases, escaped.
According to ATU sources, law enforcement arrested 2,143 members of banned extremist organizations across the country in various cases between 2021 and 2024.
Between 2021 and December 2025, 1,611 prisoners were granted bail and released from prison over the five-year period. 380 of them were released on bail on 5 August 2024 after a massive uprising. Currently, 162 extremist suspects and convicts are in jail.
ATU data shows that currently 59 death row prisoners, 46 prisoners serving life imprisonment and 25 persons serving fixed term sentences for their links with extremist organizations are lodged in 16 prisons across the country.
Additionally, 32 other imprisoned suspects are still awaiting the conclusion of their trials.