The government has declared a building in Dhaka Cantonment as a temporary jail.

The notification was issued on Sunday, and the Prison-1 branch of the Ministry of Home Affairs informed about it on Monday.

According to the notification, in accordance with the Bangladesh Code of Criminal Procedure and the Prison Act, ‘MES’ Building No-54, located north of Bashar Road in Dhaka Cantonment, has been temporarily declared as a jail.

The announcement has been made with the approval of the proper authorities and will take immediate effect.

The Army Headquarters has already taken 15 army officers into custody whose names appeared in the charge sheet of the International Crimes Tribunal.

On Saturday afternoon, Major General Md. Hakimuzzaman, during a briefing at Dhaka Cantonment regarding cases against members of the military in the International Crimes Tribunal, said a total of 25 individuals, including former and current personnel, were named in the charges.

Among them, one was in the LPR and 15 were in service, all of whom were instructed to report to the Army Headquarters by October 9. Except for Major General Kabir Ahmad, the remaining 15 personnel complied.

Fifteen individuals, including the one in LPOR, have been taken into army custody, while one remains in hiding and the other nine are on leave.

It may be mentioned that arrest warrants were issued by the International Crimes Tribunal on October 8 against 30 individuals, including former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in two enforced disappearance cases.

Among them, 25 are army officers, including five former heads of DGFI. This is the first time in the country’s history that so many serving army officers have been named in arrest warrants.

The concerned authorities have been instructed to arrest the accused by October 21 and produce them before the tribunal on October 22.

Following the tribunal’s arrest warrants and the briefing at Army Headquarters, the government announced that a building in Dhaka Cantonment would be used as a temporary jail.

However, the notification did not specify the exact purpose for which the building will be used as a temporary jail.