Summary:
- Sukharanjan Bali, a key witness in Sayedee’s trial, was abducted, tortured, and imprisoned in India for five years.
- A commission report revealed 1,676 enforced disappearances during Sheikh Hasina’s regime, implicating state forces.
- Bali alleges he was forced to testify falsely against Sayedee and handed over to the BSF by Bangladeshi authorities.
- The interim government is investigating disappearances and proposing reforms to prevent future abuses.
Dhaka, Dec 27, 2024 – Sukharanjan Bali, a key witness in the war crimes trial of Jamaat-e-Islami leader Maulana Delwar Hossain Sayedee, has come forward with harrowing details of his abduction, torture, and subsequent imprisonment in India. His story sheds light on the dark practices of enforced disappearances allegedly orchestrated by state forces during the tenure of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Bali, a carpenter from Pirojpur district, was abducted on November 5, 2012, from the gates of the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Dhaka. He was due to testify in defense of Sayedee, a two-time Member of Parliament and prominent Islamic scholar. According to Bali, plainclothesmen dragged him from his car and blindfolded him before taking him to a secret detention facility. “They forced me to falsely testify against Sayedee Huzoor,” Bali recounted tearfully. When he refused, he was subjected to brutal torture involving beatings and electric shocks.
After days of detention, Bali was handed over to India’s Border Security Force (BSF) at a border location. “I begged them not to hand me over,” he said. Despite his pleas, he was forcibly turned over to Indian authorities, who detained him under charges of illegal entry. Bali spent five years in Indian prisons before being released in early 2018 with the help of human rights organizations.
Bali’s testimony aligns with findings from the interim report titled “Unfolding the Truth,” submitted by the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances. The commission, formed by Bangladesh’s interim government under Chief Adviser Dr. Muhammad Yunus, has documented 1,676 complaints of enforced disappearances between 2009 and 2024. Of these cases, 758 have been verified, with evidence pointing to systematic involvement by law enforcement agencies such as the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), police intelligence units, and other state forces.
The commission also uncovered eight secret detention centers in Dhaka and its outskirts where victims were reportedly tortured and detained without legal recourse. In some cases, victims were killed and their bodies disposed of in rivers or abandoned on railway tracks. The report further revealed intelligence suggesting cross-border exchanges of detainees between Bangladesh and India.
Bali’s case is one of two highlighted by the commission as evidence of this practice. The other involves BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed, who similarly resurfaced in an Indian jail after being abducted from Dhaka. The commission has recommended that Bangladesh’s Ministries of Foreign and Home Affairs work to identify citizens who may still be incarcerated abroad.
The revelations have sparked outrage across Bangladesh. Dr. Yunus described the findings as “heartbreaking” and pledged full support for further investigations. “This report will remain a historical document exposing one of the darkest chapters in our nation’s history,” he said during an address marking Victory Day.
Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been directly implicated in orchestrating these disappearances through her government’s security apparatus. The commission alleges that her defense adviser and senior officials played key roles in planning and executing these operations. Many implicated individuals are now believed to be abroad following Hasina’s ouster on August 5 after mass protests led by student movements.
The commission has proposed abolishing RAB and amending the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2009 to prevent future abuses. Rights activists have also called for reparations for survivors like Bali, who continues to live in financial hardship due to his inability to return to his profession.
Bali’s ordeal underscores the need for accountability and justice for victims of enforced disappearances. As he poignantly stated: “I want justice for all that happened to me—for being abducted, tortured, imprisoned, and betrayed by my own country.”
The commission is expected to release another interim report in March 2025 as it continues its investigation into over 3,500 alleged cases of enforced disappearances during Hasina’s regime.
Citations:
[1] https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/fa1qe88gi9
[2] https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/bangladesh-interim-govts-panel-alleges-india-s-involvement-in-enforced-disappearances-101734800971274.html
[3] https://www.gulf-times.com/story/362873/witness-in-war-crimes-trial-seeks-political-asylum-in-india
[4] https://www.benarnews.org/english/news/bengali/10-shocking-facts-hasina-caused-enforced-disappearances-12192024141019.html
[5] https://www.daily-sun.com/post/784075
[6] https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2013/7/15/bangladesh-war-crimes-tribunal-in-the-dock
[7] https://www.newindianexpress.com/world/2024/Dec/21/bangladesh-commission-finds-indias-involvement-in-enforced-disappearances
[8] https://www.amust.com.au/2023/08/iconic-preacher-sayeedi-died-in-bangladeshi-prison-funeral-disrupted-by-police/
[9] https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/sheikh-hasina-involved-in-enforced-disappearances-bangladesh-commission-7251207
[10] https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/ousted-bangladesh-pm-sheikh-hasina-involved-in-forced-disappearance-interim-governments-commission/articleshow/116329897.cms
