Police, RAB, DB, CTTC among prime enforced disappearance perpetrators: Inquiry commission

The commission investigating enforced disappearances during the Awami League’s tenure has held law-enforcing agencies—such as the police, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), Detective Branch (DB), and Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit—primarily responsible for the incidents in breach of human rights and constitutional safeguards.

The commission submitted its report to the chief advisor on Wednesday.

Preliminary analysis of the data shows that the commission received a total of 1,837 complaints related to enforced disappearances.

Following a first round of review, 1772 of these complaints were entered into the commission’s database as active cases. Among these active cases, 1427 victims have surfaced alive, while 345 people remain missing to date, it reported.

The commission found state-specific law-enforcing and security agencies involved in these incidents with a vast majority of enforced disappearances linked to formal state agencies, reflecting systematic practices rather than isolated incidents.

It noted that police, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), the Detective Branch (DB) of police, and the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) are responsible for over 67 percent of the reported cases. When they combine operations, the proportion rises significantly, underscoring their central role.

Cases involving joint operations complicate oversight and accountability, it said.

The report added, specialised and intelligence-driven units—such as the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) and National Security Intelligence (NSI) –- often appear in combination with primary law-enforcing agencies, suggesting coordinated actions.

Though less frequently cited individually, agencies like the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and NSI appear repeatedly in conjunction with other forces. Their presence, while limited, indicates a pattern of occasional but strategically significant Involvement, it found.

The dominance of formal law enforcement and intelligence agencies in the data suggests significant institutional involvement or complicity in these cases. The relatively low figures for agencies like NSI and BGB may indicate either a lesser role in internal security operations or possible underreporting., the commission reported.

Additionally, the presence of individuals in plainclothes claiming to be members of law enforcement indicates covert operations, with the resulting challenges in establishing accountability and attribution, it explained.

LEGAL CONSEQUENCES

The analysis said the legal repercussions of actions undertaken by the state agencies, involved the undermining of the law and individuals’ right to security, liberty and due process.

The commission considered the implications under international human rights law, domestic legal frameworks, and the principles of due process, accountability, and the rule of law, including evaluating the nature and roles of the institutions involved and the broader legal consequences.

It noted that the constitutional right to life and liberty, prohibition of torture and inhuman treatment, and due process and fair trial rights are “routinely denied” when a person has disappeared, while the involvement of state agencies suggests a “culture of impunity” and failure to investigate, prosecute or acknowledge these cases hint at “state complicity”.

The commission also expounded, “If widespread or systematic, enforced disappearances may amount to crimes against humanity. Key elements include: repeated patterns, involvement of high-level orders, targeting of specific groups (e.g., opposition members and activists).”

The data strongly indicate state involvement in the acts of enforced disappearances in Bangladesh. The high number of cases attributed to official and specialised security forces like the police, RAB, and DB, all operating under state command, suggest that these acts were carried out with “state knowledge, authorisation, or complicity”, it said.

From a legal standpoint, this suggests systemic violations of international human rights law, potential for international criminal responsibility, and an urgent need for legal reform, transparency, and accountability, it added.

INVOLVEMENT OF SECURITY AGENCIES

The commission’s assessment reveals that the majority of enforced disappearances in Bangladesh have been carried out by different units under the police and intelligence agencies. Victims, witnesses, and family members most frequently identified police, RAB, DB, and CTTC as the main perpetrators.

Alongside those, the involvement of DGFI, NSI, and BGB were also implicated.

Both DGFI and NSI typically operate in intelligence, not law-enforcing. As they have no legal mandate to arrest or detain civilians, any involvement in detentions, abductions, or interrogations crosses constitutional boundaries, suggesting potential illegal parallel enforcement structures — a grave constitutional concern.

POLICE

Under the Awami League government, the police came under sustained scrutiny over widespread human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture in custody, suppression of dissent, and excessive use of force.

From 2009 onward, the police became increasingly politicised, functioning more as an enforcer of government policy than as a neutral public institution. Numerous national and international reports documented the disproportionate targeting of opposition groups, particularly the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami, raising serious concerns about the erosion of democratic space and civil liberties.

Extrajudicial killings—frequently labelled as “crossfire” incidents—became a hallmark of police operations, especially during anti-drug raids or crackdowns on suspected criminals. These killings often took place without judicial oversight.

The report said torture in custody was also pervasive. Victims reported severe abuse, including beatings, electric shocks, waterboarding, and other forms of physical and psychological torture. Although the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention) Act of 2013 was enacted to curb such practices, it was rarely enforced, and few officers faced legal consequences.

The police also routinely cracked down on peaceful protests, student movements, and press freedom, most notably during the July Uprising. Repressive laws such as the Special Powers Act and the Digital Security Act were widely used to arrest dissenters on vague charges such as “hurting religious sentiment” or “spreading propaganda”.

The commission has documented hundreds of enforced disappearances carried out by the police. Victims included political activists, students, teachers, businesspeople, and critics of the government.

According to the reported data, many were severely tortured and ultimately extrajudicially killed after being disappeared. These patterns revealed a structural crisis within the police: “a culture of impunity, 38 systematic abuse of power, and a lack of institutional accountability”—all in direct contradiction to their constitutional mandate to uphold the rule of law and protect citizens.

RAB

The RAB, a paramilitary law-enforcing agency established in 2004 under the home ministry, was originally tasked with tackling serious crimes such as terrorism, drug trafficking, and organised crime.

According to the report, the commission has received hundreds of complaints involving RAB’s direct participation in enforced disappearances, custodial torture, and extrajudicial killings. National and international organisations have documented a pattern of individuals allegedly picked up by RAB who were later found dead or remained missing, raising grave concerns regarding the agency’s adherence to the rule of law and human rights standards.

The force operated with significant autonomy, and the lack of robust oversight enabled widespread abuse, it added.

The Intelligence Wing of RAB, working in close coordination with operational battalions, conducted many covert operations, involving abductions and prolonged detentions in secret facilities under the pretext of fighting militancy, narcotics, and arms trafficking, it found.

The report noted that one of the most notorious sites was the Task Force for Interrogation (TFI) cell, located within the RAB-1 compound. Though publicly framed as an inter-agency facility, it was de facto operated and controlled by RAB Intelligence. Thousands of detainees were held in this facility, confined for weeks or months in pitch-dark rooms, blindfolded and handcuffed at all times.

Testimonies revealed that detainees were subjected to relentless torture within specialised rooms: methods included beatings, electrocution, suspension from ceilings, rotational disorientation, and even physical dismemberment. Children and mentally unwell detainees were not spared, it said citing statements from those who returned alive.

The report added that RAB as an institution has continued to exist after the fall of the Awami League government on Aug 5 and that its operations remain a “significant barrier” to democratic reform.

The commission believes that meaningful change will require the “dismantling of RAB as a force”, suggesting its dissolution as “essential to break the cycle of impunity, restore public confidence, and enable the creation of a rights-respecting security framework”.

DETECTIVE BRANCH

Operating under the police, the DB plays a central role in law-enforcing operations, particularly through covert investigations and intelligence-led actions.

According to the report, numerous allegations were made that DB personnel abducted political opponents, activists, and suspected criminals; detained them in undisclosed locations; failed to acknowledge the arrests; conducted arbitrary detentions without warrants; and held individuals incommunicado.

Victims frequently reported custodial torture, enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and transfers to other security agencies such as the RAB and the DGFI, it said.

The DB was widely believed to be an instrument of political repression during the tenure of the Awami League.

CTTC

While the CTTC unit has claimed to play a vital role in addressing emerging security threats, it has become associated with the same patterns of abuse and impunity that have long plagued other security forces, such as RAB, the report said.

Even when they detain captives unlawfully over briefer periods than other agencies, CTTC operatives have been reported to inflict severe harm through strategic misuse of the legal system. The unit has been known to initiate numerous false cases, thereby weaponising the judiciary to wage “lawfare” against targeted individuals, it said.

The commission found that the CTTC has faced serious allegations of enforced disappearances, torture, and arbitrary detention. Human rights defenders both within and outside Bangladesh have consistently raised concerns about the disappearance of individuals suspected of so-called terrorist or criminal affiliations.

The report added that the commission has documented numerous instances where individuals were forcibly disappeared, held incommunicado, and subjected to abuse under the guise of interrogation. In several cases, victims were later presented with concocted charges or have never resurfaced at all.

Detainees have described being subjected to brutal torture intended to extract information or forced confessions, it said.

DGFI

Over the past decade, the DGFI has faced persistent allegations of enforced disappearances, unlawful detentions, torture, and surveillance of political opponents.

The report said the agency has also been accused of manipulating domestic politics and interfering in the 2014 parliamentary elections. Its alignment with the Awami League government “severely compromised its perceived neutrality”.

The lack of parliamentary oversight—being answerable only to the Defence Minister—has contributed to accusations of unchecked authority and institutional opacity, the report said.

Credible reports from international organisations and media outlets document widespread human rights abuses by DGFI personnel. The agency has reportedly operated black sites—including the notorious Aynaghor (torture chambers)—where detainees were held incommunicado and subjected to extreme torture.

NSI

The NSI’s operational effectiveness has come under serious scrutiny due to increasing politicisation, the commission found.

It added that the allegations suggest that the agency is used to monitor and suppress political opposition, civil society, and journalists rather than focus strictly on national security threats. The NSI operates without a comprehensive legal statute defining its powers, limitations, and oversight mechanisms.

It lacks independent parliamentary or judicial oversight, raising concerns about unchecked authority and the potential for human rights violations.

The commission said it received complaints implicating the NSI in enforced disappearances. Human rights organisations also accuse it of involvement in torture and other abuses, with victims having limited legal recourse due to the opaque nature of its operations.

BGB

The inquiry commission says although elite units such as RAB and DB are more frequently cited, BGB is implicated in several cases, especially in border and counter-insurgency contexts. In areas bordering India and Myanmar, reports have emerged of extrajudicial killings and disappearances linked to BGB operations.

It said these incidents often remain undocumented due to the remoteness of the regions and restricted media access. Enforced disappearance constitutes an inter-state crime due to its cross-border dimensions. Victims are at times abducted in one country and delivered to the authorities of another, making the involvement of border security forces from both states almost inevitable.

The commission’s inquiry finds that such cross-border transfers or exchanges of captives would not be possible without the collusion or active cooperation of BGB and the Indian Border Security Force (BSF).

Cases such as the disappearances of Shukhoranjan Bali, BNP leader Salauddin Ahmed, Mehedi Hasan Dollar, and Rahamatullah serve as stark examples of cross-border renditions involving India.

The report added that testimony before the commission reveals that RAB usually notified BGB before conducting cross-border renditions, specifying border locations where their vehicles would cross a few hundred metres into Indian territory and captives would be transferred from Bangladesh to India.