'Jollad' Shahjahan, who executed 26 convicts including 6 killers of Bangabandhu, walks out of jail

Shahjahan Bhuiyan, the 74-year-old hangman of Dhaka Central Jail, was freed today after serving over three decades in prison.

According to the prison authority, Shahjahan was given 42 years of jail time, including a 12-year sentence in a robbery case with financial penalty of Tk5,000 on 8 November 1992, a life term imprisonment in another robbery and murder case where he was also fined Tk5,000.

"I need a home as I have no place to stay. I urge the prime minister to kindly provide me with a home or shelter. I only have my sister and nephew, but we have lost contact for a long time now. With nowhere else to go, I fear I will have to rely on the kindness of others to provide me with a place to stay," Shahjahan said while speaking to journalists at the jail gate on Sunday (18 June).

He went on to say, "I want to live the rest of my life in peace."  

When asked if he had any regrets about hanging people, hangman Shahjahan replied, "I am not the one who decides who is hanged. It is up to the state and the justice system. Those who have been hanged so far have all appealed to the apex court in the country and to the president, and their appeals have been denied. So, why should I feel guilty?

"But it was only natural to feel sadness whenever I had to carry out an execution. When a person's life comes to an end, it is always an emotional moment."

Shahjahan was arrested in 1979 as he was on his way to the capital from Narsingdi. 

After serving a decade in prison, he embarked on a fresh chapter of his life as an assistant hangman in 1989.

Following eight years in the role, he was promoted to the position of chief hangman in 1997.