Ex-DGFI chief Mamun disclosing role in Ilias Ali disappearance

Chief Prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) Md Aminul Islam said on Thursday that former DGFI chief Lt Gen (retd) Sheikh Mamun Khaled has begun disclosing details about his own role, as well as that of others, in the 2012 enforced disappearance of BNP leader Ilias Ali.

Aminul told a national daily that additional evidence had also emerged from witness testimonies in the ongoing case against Maj Gen (relieved) Ziaul Ahsan, who is accused of orchestrating the disappearance and murder of 104 people between 2010 and 2013.

On April 13, ICT2 showed Mamun Khaled arrested in an underinvestigation crimes against humanity case and allowed investigators to interrogate him for two days in safe custody.

Ilias Ali, former BNP Sylhet division organising secretary, was allegedly abducted from Dhaka’s Banani around midnight on April 17, 2012. Aminul said investigators have collected call detail records (CDR) of eight phone numbers linked to the incident, which showed unusual conversations and tracking of Ilias’s movements.

He also noted that days before Ilias’s disappearance, two Sylhetbased student leaders — Iftekhar Ahmed Dinar and Junaed — were abducted, a development believed to be connected.

The prosecution is pursuing a “very strong and constructive investigation,” with potential witnesses including family members, political colleagues, and individuals present at the hotel from where Ilias was last seen leaving, said Aminul.

“More information is coming in, but for the sake of the investigation, we cannot disclose everything at this stage,” Aminul said, expressing confidence that the inquiry will ultimately uncover the facts behind the enforced disappearance.