January 15, 2026
DHAKA – A total of 211 uniformed personnel — 100 from the army, 98 from the police, five from the air force, five from the BGB, three from the navy, and one from the coast guard — were interrogated, the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances said in a report released yesterday.
Submitted to Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus earlier, the report also contained a list of at least 13 secret detention centres where torture and enforced disappearance had taken place.
The centres were run by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit, the Detective Branch, and police units in Bogura, Cox’s Bazar, Dinajpur and Bagerhat.
The cells run by police were located in the respective lines, while the CTTC held its detainees on the first and seventh floors of its office, the commission found.
The sites run by Rab included the Taskforce for Interrogation Cell (TFI) operated by Rab Intelligence, a detention centre referred to as the “clinic” located in a glass-facade building behind the Rab Headquarters, and cells inside Rab-1, Rab-7 and Rab-11.
Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence ran a Joint Interrogation Cell located in the same compound as the DGFI Headquarters, and the National Security Intelligence operated a secret detention centre inits Gulshan office.
The DB and CTTC often maintained weaker secrecy, allowing detainees to identify locations and officers, while Rab Intelligence and DGFI used tightly controlled systems to obscure identity and location, with military officers operating in a culture of institutional secrecy even without formal military oversight, said the report.
The full report details evidence found against key officers involved in enforced disappearance, with the operations codenamed “Golf Operations”.
The commission also identified the prima facie involvement of 40 Rab officers, 11 DGFI officers, 11 police officers, nine CTTC officers, six DB officers, three Lawful Interception Centre officers, and two NSI officers.
Of them, seven from CTTC, four from Rab, two from DB and one police officer were directly identified by the victims by name.
In the report, at least five accounts from officers and soldiers specifically detailed the actions and orders of Major General Ziaul Ahsan, former director general of the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre (NTMC).
Brigadier Rashidul Alam, who served as Rab-1 commanding officer from 2009 to 2013, recounted an orientation session conducted by Zia where two victims were shot on a bridge in front of him as part of his initiation into the agency.
He gave details of Zia’s involvement in the enforced disappearance of BNP leader Ilias Ali to an internal inquiry board established by the Bangladesh Army in early September 2024 to investigate alleged crimes by Rab.
A soldier deputed to Rab Intelligence described an incident in which a victim tried to escape by jumping into a river. According to his testimony, Zia retrieved the individual and executed him on the spot.
A witness from the armed forces testified that Zia took a detainee out of a vehicle, stripped him, and shot him twice in the head at close range before dumping the body off a bridge.
Another officer described a pattern of executions in which victims were shot in the head at close range under Zia’s supervision. He testified that 11 people were killed in succession, their bodies tied to cement bags and dumped into the Buriganga.
Another Rab Intelligence operative testified that Zia ordered the release of a “bomber terrorist” because the arrest had been witnessed by the public, saying it was not a “clean pickup”. The operative added that the individual was later abducted by Rab Intelligence members without witnesses, using interception.
Two security forces members provided direct testimony implicating Major Md Ashraful Abedin Noushad in two cases of execution.
A witness from the armed forces said Noushad, “following Zia sir’s lead”, took a target from a vehicle, shot him, and the naked body was seen falling from a bridge into the water.
Another soldier testified that after an execution, Noushad used tissues to clean faeces passed by victims out of extreme fear before being killed.
Brig Gen MH Hafizur Rahman, who was a senior officer of DGFI’s Counter Terrorism Intelligence Bureau (CTIB) in 2016, testified that he took part in the abduction of Brig Gen Abdullahil Amaan Azmi, acting on direct orders from then CTIB Colonel GS Col Kamrul.
Witnesses told the commission that Hafizur played a key role in CTIB’s operations during a period marked by numerous abductions.
Maj Gen Kabir Ahmed, CTIB director between 2020 and 2022, told the commission he discussed Brig Gen Azmi’s captivity with DGFI directors general Lt Gen Saiful Alam and Lt Gen Ahmed Tabrej Shams Chowdhury.
Meanwhile, Maj Gen AKM Aminul Haque said the abduction order for Azmi came directly from Lt Gen Md Akbar Hussain, who served as the DGFI director general from 2013 to 2017.
The 2024 Army Court of Inquiry also recorded that Akbar authorised the initial abduction and detention of Azmi in 2016.
Akbar admitted to the commission that he discussed Hummam Quader Chowdhury’s disappearance and his family’s release demand directly with then prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
The report also had a list of those involved with the enforced disappearance of Barrister Mir Ahmad Bin Quasem Arman between 2016 and 2024.
These include former Rab directors general Benazir Ahmed, Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, M Khurshid Hossain, and Md Harun Or Rashid; former additional directors general (operations) Md Anwar Latif Khan, Md Jahangir Alam, Tofayel Mostofa Sorwar, KM Azad, Md Kamrul Hasan, Md Mahbub Alam, and Abdullah Al Momen; and former intelligence directors Mohammad Abul Kalam Azad, Md Mahbub Alam, Md Sarwar-Bin-Kasem, Muhammad Khairul Islam, Md Moshiur Rahman Jewel, and Saiful Islam Sumon.
Former Rab DG Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun stated in his Section 164 testimony before the ICT that both he and the senior Rab leadership were fully aware that Arman was in their custody, stated the report.
Benazir Ahmed reportedly briefed his successor Mamun about Arman’s detention at the TFI. Director Md Sarwar Bin Kasem also informed Mamun, while Saiful Islam Sumon was found to have had the key to the detention site as late as October 2024.
Additionally, Sheikh Hasina’s security and military adviser Maj Gen Tariq Siddiqi was allegedly informed of Arman’s detention and instructed the Rab DG to “keep him there”.
A soldier stationed at the TFI centre also testified against colonels Azad and Mahbub, and intelligence directors Moshiur and Saiful Islam Sumon, stating that they visited the site, with the team alerted days in advance. He specifically recalled Jewel inspecting every cell on Eid ul-Fitr in 2023.
“Interviews of security force personnel across multiple years indicate that such inspections were routine, not exceptional. Taken together, the testimonies demonstrate senior-level knowledge, oversight and engagement with detention sites across the years,” the report stated.
The commission also found prima facie evidence against ADC Ahmedul Islam of the CTTC, stating that he is accused in several complaints of enforced disappearance.
Meanwhile, a 56-year-old man, abducted by Rab-11 in 2017, testified that former Rab officer Alep Uddin tortured him severely. He said he was hung from cell bars by handcuffs for hours, during which he lost a fingernail from the abuse.
The report stated that all senior Rab leadership are culpable for the enforced disappearance of Arman, who was secretly detained at the TFI centre from 2016 to 2024.
“The assertion that the military lacked awareness of the conduct of its officers while on deputation cannot be sustained,” argued the commission.