The Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearance has revealed that a mobile surveillance system was used to locate victims before their secret abductions.
According to the “Unfolding the Truth” report, interviews with victims and Armed Forces members confirmed that mobile technology was crucial for these operations. RAB and military officers stated that “silent pick-ups” would be impossible without precise location tracking.
Led by retired justice Mainul Islam Chowdhury, the five-member commission presented its findings to Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at the Jamuna state guest house.
The report noted that before the establishment of the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre (NTMC) as an independent agency, mobile surveillance was conducted by the National Monitoring Centre (NMC) under the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI). The DGFI provided surveillance systems used by various forces, implicating it in facilitating enforced disappearances.
A former DGFI official confirmed that the organization supported surveillance logistics for law enforcement teams while the NMC operated from DGFI Headquarters. This structure indicates significant coordination among security forces, although some surveillance capabilities may still exist within individual forces.
The report highlights a lack of judicial oversight in the surveillance process. Several victims reported signs of being monitored before their abductions, including references to private conversations and suspicious phone calls with no one on the other end.
In one case, eyewitnesses described security forces instructing occupants to line up their phones, leading to the detention of an individual who answered a call. That person was never seen again.
