A commission has been formed to investigate incidents of enforced disappearances involving the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), police, and other law enforcement agencies over the past 16 years.
The five-member investigative committee was formed on Tuesday.
Retired judges of the High Court Division Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury and Justice Farid Ahmed Shibli have been made president and member of the Commission.
Other members of the Commission are: human rights activist Nur Khan, BRAC University teacher Nabila Idris and human rights activist Sazzad Hossain.
The committee has been instructed to submit its report within the next 45 working days.
The cabinet division issued a gazette in this regard.
The commission will investigate cases of enforced disappearances through law enforcement agencies from January 1, 2010, to August 5 of the current year, identify the disappeared persons, and determine under what circumstances they disappeared.
The notification mentions that the commission will submit details of the enforced disappearance incidents to the relevant authorities and make recommendations on the matter. If the disappeared persons are found, the commission will inform their relatives.
At the same time, the commission will collect information on investigations conducted by other organizations or institutions regarding incidents of enforced disappearances.
The notification mentions that the Cabinet Division will provide secretarial assistance to the commission and bear the necessary expenses. The commission will also have the authority to assign any public servant of the Republic to assist them.
The notification also mentions that the president of the commission will enjoy the status and privileges of a judge of the Appellate Division of the Bangladesh Supreme Court, and the members of the commission will enjoy the status and privileges of a judge of the High Court Division.