Commission finds India's involvement in Bangladesh's enforced disappearance

The Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearance has found India's involvement in enforced disappearances in Bangladesh as it found intelligence information about the practice of captive exchanges between the two countries and the possible subsequent fate of the detainees.

There is a persistent suggestion in law enforcement circles that some prisoners may still remain in Indian jails, BSS reports citing the commission's report. 

"We recommend the foreign and home ministries extend their best efforts to identify any Bangladeshi citizens who may still remain incarcerated in India. It is beyond the jurisdiction of the commission to follow this trail outside Bangladesh," it said.

The report, submitted to the chief adviser on 14 December, describes a complex web of confusion created by agencies involved in the disappearances, from victim targeting to surveillance, abduction, and detention, all aimed at evading legal accountability.

It highlights the case of Shukhranjan Bali, abducted from the Bangladesh Supreme Court and later found in an Indian jail. It also details Hummam Quader Chowdhury's experience of hearing Hindi-speaking individuals inquire about his captivity, questioning his abduction and interrogation status.

BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed's case is cited as an example of the Bangladesh-India rendition system. Detained in Uttara in 2015, he describes being imprisoned in a barren cell with a hole as a toilet, and being provided a blanket labeled "TFI," indicating the "Task Force for Interrogation."

The report reveals that the only known TFI centre at the time was managed by the RAB Intelligence Wing at its headquarters in Uttara, Dhaka. Though the facility was destroyed, the commission confirmed that RAB Intelligence still controls access to it. 

Witness testimonies and interviews with former soldiers suggest Salahuddin Ahmed may have been held in one of the destroyed cells, according to the report.

The report further explains how Salahuddin was transported to the India-Bangladesh border, where he was formally handed over to Indian authorities, suggesting high-level coordination between the two countries' security forces. 

This exchange process is corroborated by interviews with RAB Intelligence soldiers, who described instances in 2011 where captives were transferred from India via the Tamabil border. Some captives were killed after the exchange, while others were handed over alive within Bangladesh.

The formal nature of the handover, combined with the presence of suspected Bangladeshi security personnel wearing "jom tupi" (a type of disguise that covers the entire head) well inside Indian territory to avoid recognition, underscores the high level of coordination between the two governments and their respective security forces, said the report.