“He was starving. I gave him my own meal. He cried while eating, and I cried too.”
This was how one soldier described his quiet act of defiance while posted at a secret detention site. Just feeding a detainee from his own plate was enough to put his life at risk. Compassion, in such places, was seen as weakness. Silence was survival.
This account is one of many included in the second interim report of the Inquiry Commission on Enforced Disappearances, submitted to Interim Government Chief Advisor Professor Muhammad Yunus on June 4.
The report reveals how enforced disappearances in Bangladesh were not just random incidents, but part of a long-running system involving torture, illegal detention, and even killings—protected by politics and backed by intelligence networks.
According to the commission, this system lasted for more than 15 years and was made possible by three key factors: a judiciary that often looked the other way, a culture within the security forces that rewarded silence and loyalty over truth, and international allies who supported these practices in the name of counterterrorism.
Fear within the Forces
The report describes how security officers who questioned or refused to take part in disappearances often faced serious consequences. Some were sidelined in their careers, blacklisted, or falsely accused of crimes. In one case, a CTTC officer tortured a detainee so badly that two female officers in the room broke down in tears.
But even in such a brutal system, the report documents rare acts of resistance. Guards quietly loosened handcuffs, refused to carry out kill orders, or slipped food to prisoners. Two junior RAB officers even wrote letters refusing to participate in extrajudicial killings. These letters, surprisingly, were found in the personal files of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina—kept for years at Gonobhaban. This, the commission says, proves her direct knowledge of the operations.
“This wasn’t just about a few bad officers,” the report notes. “The whole system treated these crimes like normal duties.”
Detentions in India
The Awami League’s domestic counter-terror narrative was mirrored in bilateral security cooperation with India. This relationship extended beyond rhetoric and translated into tangible joint operations, cross-border coordination, and illegal detentions. In several testimonies, victims describe being handed over from Indian custody to Bangladeshi intelligence, and vice versa.
The report also highlights India’s involvement in some operations. In one example, a top Bangladeshi criminal—on Interpol’s most-wanted list—was secretly brought back from India in exchange for a Bangladeshi prisoner held in RAB custody. The deal happened behind closed doors, without going through any court or legal process.
The Interpol-wanted man was held in isolation in Bangladesh for months before being quietly released, only to resume his criminal activities. Meanwhile, the Bangladeshi citizen handed over to India was later found to have served jail time there before returning.
The commission questions the purpose of such exchanges. “These backdoor deals didn’t make the country safer—they helped powerful people escape justice,” it says.
Loyalty over justice
The report also examined intelligence files of officers suspected of serious crimes like torture and enforced disappearance. Shockingly, none of these crimes were mentioned. Instead, the files praised officers for things like discipline or noted minor misconduct—like sending fish as gifts to superiors.
In Chapter 6 of the second interim report, while reviewing intelligence files, the commission noted that: “Minute details, such as that he used to regularly send ‘fish therapy’ (gifts of fish) to the then Director Intelligence of RAB, the then Lieutenant Colonel Ziaul Ahsan, is included.”
In one case, a junior officer admitted during a debriefing that he had killed two people himself and witnessed four more killings. He said he donated the reward money to his village mosque. No action was taken against him.
Even some top officers seemed more concerned about “military image” than human lives. One general complained that soldiers were being treated like ordinary police during RAB missions—not about the killings.
Deep fear still lingers
Many officers told the commission they were still afraid to speak out. Some would only communicate through intermediaries. Their fear was not of the inquiry—but of their own institutions.
The commission warns that while the fall of the previous government in August 2024 helped bring many of these truths to light, the culture of fear and silence within the forces has not gone away.
“This system didn’t survive because no one knew,” the report concludes. “It survived because many chose not to see—or to stay quiet.”
The commission has called for strong legal action against not just the foot soldiers, but also senior officials who allowed these crimes to happen. But with many of those individuals still holding powerful positions, the road to justice remains long and uncertain.