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Published : 24 Jun 2025, 12:26 PM
The government has extended the term of the commission investigating the enforced disappearances carried out by law-enforcing agencies during the rule of the toppled Awami League government until Dec 31.
The Cabinet Division issued a notice in this regard on Monday.
The notice said that the term of the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances, constituted by a notice issued on Sept 15, 2024, under the powers conferred by Section 3 of the Commission of Inquiry Act, 1956, has been extended until Dec 31 this year.
The commission is headed by retired justice Moinul Islam Chowdhury. Other members are-retired additional High Court judge Md Farid Ahmed Shibli, human rights activist Mohammad Nur Khan, BRAC University teacher Nabila Idris, and human rights activist Sajjad Hossain.
The commission's mandate is to investigate enforced disappearances involving members of the Bangladesh Police, Rapid Action Battalion, Border Guard Bangladesh, Criminal Investigation Department, Special Branch, Detective Branch, Ansar Battalion, National Security Intelligence, or NSI, and Directorate General of Forces Intelligence, or DGFI.
During the Awami League’s tenure, cases of extrajudicial killings in the name of “crossfires”, abductions by law-enforcing personnel, and instances where bodies were recovered or individuals went missing after being taken into custody sparked public outrage
Reports of torture during detention, prolonged secret imprisonment, and accusations against DGFI for operating a secret torture facility known as “Ayna Ghor”, or “house of mirrors”, also surfaced in media reports.
After the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on Aug 5 in the face of a student-led mass uprising, the interim government issued a notice forming the commission on enforced disappearance on Aug 27.
Later, the government scrapped that notice and issued a fresh notice extending the deadline for the commission to submit its report by Dec 15.
There were changes in the goals and responsibilities of the inquiry commission in the new notice. However, the five-strong commission remained intact.
