Published: 07:01 AM, 06 November 2024
Major intelligence agencies had links with enforced disappearances
The minor daughter of a victim of enforced disappearances shed tears for her father who was abducted by demonized intelligence forces in 2021 while the fascist party Awami League was in power. This snap won the Picture of The Year Award in Bangladesh Press Photo Contest 2022. -File Photo
The Inquiry Commission on Enforced Disappearances in its primary investigation has found the involvement of Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), Detective Branch (DB), Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC), Crime Investigation Department (CID) and police force with the enforced disappearances and it is going to interrogate the security personnel concerned from 7 November 2024.
"We cannot tell you the exact number of security personnel, whose involvement was found so far, but we have found the involvement of DGFI, RAB, DB, CTTC, CID and general police men. We are going to interrogate the relevant security personnel from November 7 and we have already issued summons on seven people for the first day of questioning. We may summon three personnel the next time, then seven, then five more, and this will continue," commission chairman Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury said at a press briefing at its commission's auditorium here.
Justice Chowdhury said the commission so far received more than 1,600 complaints, of which 400 have already been scrutinized.
"We have so far scrutinized 400 complaints and interviewed 140 people in this regard. There is a detail guideline on how to arrest an accused, but that was not followed. They were supposed to produce the accused before the court within 24 hours of the arrest, but the accused were kept confined for days, months, even year after year," he added.
The commission chairman further said most cases of enforced disappearances had political motives. But many became victims of enforced disappearance because of the personal decision of security personnel, he continued.
Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury said the commission has failed to identify more than 200 victims of enforced disappearance.
The government on August 27 had formed the five-member commission to identify and find out the people who disappeared forcibly by the law enforcement agencies from January 6, 2009 to August 5, 2024.
Led by retired judge of the High Court Division Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury, the other members of the commission are Justice Farid Ahmed Shibli, human rights activists Nur Khan and Sazzad Hossain, and BRAC University teacher Nabila Idris.
