Commission investigates 330 cases of enforced disappearance
The commission established by the interim government to probe enforced disappearances during the previous regime announced today that it is currently examining the cases of 330 victims who remain unaccounted for.
“The investigation into 330 victims of enforced disappearances who have yet to return is ongoing,” said Commission Chairman Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury, a retired High Court judge, during a media briefing at the commission’s Gulshan office.
Chowdhury reported that the commission has received 1,752 complaints of enforced disappearance to date and has completed an initial review of approximately 1,000 cases, analysing related documents and evidence. The commission has also recorded statements from 280 complainants who testified in person, alongside depositions from 45 officers representing law enforcement and intelligence agencies.
He noted that police informed the commission of 140 individuals who were pushed into Bangladesh from India after August 5, 2024. Previously, the commission had requested Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) sector commanders and police superintendents in border districts to provide details of such incidents. Chowdhury added that the commission is awaiting comprehensive reports from BGB and police to further its investigation into these missing persons.
Among the cases cited, Chowdhury highlighted that Mohammad Rahmat Ullah of Dhamrai, a missing person, was reportedly pushed back into Bangladesh via the Gomastapur border in Chapainawabganj district.
Additionally, the Foreign Ministry provided the commission with a list of 1,067 Bangladeshis detained in Indian prisons over the past two and a half years. “We are reviewing this list to determine if it includes any individuals classified as victims of enforced disappearance,” he explained.
Chowdhury also revealed that the commission visited secret detention centres operated by the Directorate General of Intelligence and Espionage (DGIE), Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit, and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in Dhaka, Bogura, Narayanganj, Rajshahi, and Chattogram. These visits occurred shortly after the commission was informed of their existence, and authorities were instructed to preserve the sites intact.
The interim government formed the five-member inquiry commission on August 27, 2024, tasking it with identifying and locating individuals forcibly disappeared by intelligence and law enforcement agencies between January 1, 2010, and August 5, 2024.
Alongside Chairman Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury, the commission includes retired Judge Justice Farid Ahmed Shibli, rights activist Noor Khan, BRAC University faculty member Nabila Idris, and rights activist Sazzad Hossain, all of whom attended the briefing.