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Published : 01 Apr 2025, 11:32 PM
Information Advisor Mahfuj Alam has claimed that more than 100,000 members of the Awami League, including its leader, former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, have fled to India.
He made the statement during an Eid gathering in Dhaka on Tuesday, attended by families of individuals allegedly disappeared or killed during Hasina’s tenure.
Speaking at the event, he accused the Awami League of operating as a “mafia group” and vowed that the party would never be allowed to regain political footing in Bangladesh.
“Sheikh Hasina is still conspiring in India,” Mahfuj said.
“It is unfortunate that India has chosen to shelter her and her terrorist forces. We have learnt that nearly 100,000 Awami League members have taken refuge there.”
Hasina, who led Bangladesh for over a decade, left the country on Aug 5, 2024 following a wave of mass protests.
With her departure, many senior officials of the Awami League have gone into hiding.
Mahfuj, one of the leaders of the Anti-discrimination Student Movement, was a key figure in the July Uprising that ultimately led to the dramatic fall of Hasina.
He claimed that the newly formed commission, tasked with investigating these allegations, had found evidence suggesting that many victims were abducted and sent to India.
“There were detention centres across Bangladesh—houses of enforced disappearances,” Mahfuj said.
“We have truly become free for the second time.”
‘Mayer Dak,” the advocacy group that hosted Tuesday’s event, was formed by families of individuals allegedly disappeared during Hasina’s rule.
Claiming that the number of enforced disappearance victims is over 1,000, the information advisor said: “The majority of the families have not found anyone, according to the commission. Many were in Indian jails. They [alleged disappeared individuals] were here initially. But then they were trafficked to India.”
Mahfuj contended that the Awami League weaponised accusations of militancy and terrorism to suppress opposition.
“Anyone who opposed them [Awami League] was labelled a terrorist, a militant, an arsonist,” he said.
“It was normalised that since these people were terrorists, they could be killed.”
“We are not saying that there is no reality of militancy or extremism in Bangladesh. There is reality. But Hasina imposed it on the people of the country. The citizens were portrayed as terrorists, militants, and anti-state,” Mahfuj said.
He insisted that removing Hasina from power was the only path forward for Bangladesh.
“There was no alternative,” he said.
“The only way out was the fall of Sheikh Hasina and the abolition of her fascist system.”
