Disappearance commission seeks info on Hasina regime’s police supers
Sources told this newspaper yesterday that there has been no reply to the letters yet
Highlights
- Commission seeks info about SPs serving between 6 Jan 2009 and 5 Aug 2024
- It also seeks details on police station personnel posted during the period
- Info on individuals pushed into Bangladesh from India also sought
- Three separate letters dated 2 January issued
- Replies sought within 15 days of receiving letters
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The Inquiry Commission on Enforced Disappearance has requested information on all district police superintendents and police station personnel who were on duty during the Awami League government's tenure.
Information has been sought from police superintendents of 31 border districts and 16 sector commanders of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) regarding individuals pushed into Bangladesh from India after the fall of the Hasina government.
The information was requested through the police and BGB headquarters in three separate letters dated 2 January and signed by the commission's secretary, Ashikul Khabir.
The police superintendents and the BGB sector commanders were asked to provide the information within 15 days of receiving the letters, copies of which have been obtained by TBS.
Sources told this newspaper yesterday that there has been no reply to the letters yet.
The interim government formed the commission through a notification issued on 15 September 2024 to investigate the disappearance of individuals between 6 January 2009 and 5 August 2024 allegedly carried out by law enforcement agencies or with their support.
The commission was constituted to trace, identify these missing persons, and determine the reasons behind their disappearance, gathering information and evidence from families of the victims and any other individuals, organisations, or institutions.
A letter sent to the police headquarters states that to investigate the complaints received, the commission needs names, badge numbers, mobile numbers, current place of work, fathers' names, and permanent addresses of all police superintendents serving in all districts of the country from 6 January 2009 to 5 August 2024.
To expedite the retrieval of names, designations, badge numbers, and other relevant information of police personnel serving in various police stations across the country during the same period (2009-2024) from the relevant database, an officer should be designated as a focal person. Subsequently, the WhatsApp number and email ID of the focal person should be provided to the commission, it reads.
In another letter, it is mentioned that the commission has come across information about individuals who have been forcibly brought into Bangladesh from India.
To trace and identify these missing persons, the commission requires the names, fathers' names, addresses, and the national identity card and mobile number of a family member of those individuals who were pushed into Bangladesh from India through the 31 border districts between 5 August and 31 December.
The border districts are Satkhira, Jashore, Chuadanga, Meherpur, Kushtia, Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj, Naogaon, Joypurhat, Jhenaidah, Nilphamari, Dinajpur, Panchagarh, Thakurgaon, Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, Sherpur, Jamalpur, Mymensingh, Netrakona, Sunamganj, Sylhet, Moulvibazar, Habiganj, Brahmanbaria, Cumilla, Feni, Chittagong, Rangamati, Khagrachari and Bandarban.
In another letter sent to the BGB headquarters, the commission sought similar information regarding those individuals who were pushed into Bangladesh through the 16 BGB sectors between 1 January and 31 December 2024.
The 16 BGB sectors mentioned in the letter are Mymensingh, Sylhet, Srimangal, Dinajpur, Cumilla, Rangpur, Thakurgaon, Rajshahi, Rangamati, Khagrachari, Bandarban, Kushtia, Khulna, Guimara, Ramu and Baghaichhari.
TBS made multiple attempts to contact the Deputy Director-General (Media) of the BGB headquarters, Colonel Mohammad Shariful Islam, by phone, but he did not answer the calls.
When contacted, Nur Khan Liton, a member of the commission and a human rights activist, told TBS that the commission would announce its findings through a press conference later. He, as a member of the commission, would not comment on the matter beyond that.
Additional Inspector General Inamul Haq Sagar, from the Media and Public Relations Department of the Police Headquarters, told this newspaper that he was unaware of the letter requesting information from the commission.
"Different departments receive different letters. Not all letters come to our department. We are unaware of any letter from the Inquiry Commission on Enforced Disappearance requesting information about police officers."
No other officials from the police, BGB or the commission agreed to comment on the matter.
