Staff Correspondent:
Alarming new testimonies have emerged implicating Indian intelligence agencies in enforced disappearances and extrajudicial activities inside Bangladesh. Victims and rights groups claim that over the past 16 years, the Awami League government under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina not only persecuted political opponents through systematic abductions and killings but also collaborated with Indian security agencies in these clandestine operations.
According to multiple testimonies submitted to the Enforced Disappearances Commission in Bangladesh, Indian and Bangladeshi intelligence agencies jointly conducted covert operations under the guise of bilateral security cooperation. The framework for this cooperation was formally presented as anti-terrorism and cross-border coordination initiatives. However, the evidence suggests that the true intent was to forcibly extract individuals from Bangladesh and subject them to illegal detention, torture, and interrogation in India before returning them into the custody of Bangladeshi agencies like the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) and the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).
One victim testified that he was handed over from Indian custody to DGFI agents at the border after being blindfolded and shackled by Indian officers. “It was around 1:30 at night when an Indian officer blindfolded me. I was already handcuffed. They readied their weapons and took me out of the vehicle about 10 minutes later. I realized I was being handed over. One officer told me, ‘Sit down.’ I was seated and then smuggled across the border under the cover of darkness,” he said.
Another victim, whose identity was confirmed through RAB sources, stated that he had been detained in two mirrored interrogation rooms operated by RAB intelligence. He was later transferred to India, where he was questioned about videos posted online that allegedly criticized the treatment of Indian Muslims. “They asked me why I was posting anti-India content, especially videos supportive of Kashmiris. I denied it. They spoke in Bengali and warned me never to repeat the mistake,” the victim recalled.
The testimonies reveal a harrowing pattern of cross-border abductions and torture. A 21-year-old man recounted being abducted by DGFI, RAB intelligence, and RAB-1 in 2016 and subsequently disappearing for two years, eight months, and seven days. Another man said he was abducted by RAB-4 and RAB intelligence in 2023 and kept disappeared for one year, three months, and 24 days.
According to several victims, RAB held detainees in the same location for extended periods — up to three months. “After abducting us, they told us, ‘There are powerful intelligence agencies. If we hand you over, they will kill you.’” One individual described how he was blindfolded, driven to the border, and handed over to two men on motorcycles. “They told me they would help me cross into India and that they’d bring me back after a few days,” he said.
Once inside India, the ordeal intensified. “They took me across the river, through barbed wire, and placed me on a bus. They told me to get off wherever it stopped. In jail, I had to sleep between filthy toilets or on broken pipes. Sewage dripped on me. Sometimes they gave food, sometimes they didn’t. They made me work, but there was no food afterward,” one victim testified.
He further described being interrogated by men who claimed to be from Delhi’s intelligence headquarters. “They asked, ‘Why are you releasing anti-India videos?’ I told them I hadn’t. They said, ‘We’re letting you go this time, but don’t do this again.’ Although they didn’t beat me badly, they tortured me psychologically by withholding food.”
The psychological and physical toll of the detentions left many victims severely traumatized. “I had excruciating headaches and was extremely weak. One mid-level officer told me, ‘Why are you trying to kill yourself? Do you know how many years Nelson Mandela spent in prison?’ They’d preach about Yusuf (Joseph) the prophet being imprisoned and tried to use religious stories to justify their actions,” one detainee said. “I begged them to just kill me in a crossfire. I had done nothing. They insisted I give them names, but I didn’t know any.”
He recounted being placed in a vehicle, forced to wear a suffocating headpiece, and handed over to two other individuals. He was then moved again and placed in a prison. Attempts to find out who was behind his handover revealed that it was members of the Special Task Force (STF), an Indian intelligence unit operating under West Bengal authorities. “I had never even heard of STF before,” he said. After 29 days and several false promises, he was finally returned to Bangladesh.
His ordeal did not end there. Six months later, he was taken to the Detective Branch (DB) in Dhaka again. “This time, two Americans came. They didn’t just interrogate me — they questioned many others. They handed us a form to fill out,” he said. DGFI officers later informed him that foreign agents would interrogate him again, and he was subjected to renewed threats and intimidation.
The accounts underscore a chilling pattern of coordinated repression and suggest an ongoing system of illegal detention, torture, and international intelligence collaboration aimed at silencing dissent and controlling narratives. Rights organizations have called for an immediate international investigation into these allegations, as the testimonies raise serious questions about cross-border accountability, human rights violations, and the integrity of state institutions on both sides of the border.
As the Commission continues to gather evidence, families of the disappeared and returned survivors await justice — and demand answers for the years lost in silence, darkness, and brutality.
