Police-led disappearance probes could weaken accountability: Experts
Police would be tasked with investigating enforced disappearance cases under the government’s proposed Enforced Disappearance (Prevention and Remedy) Bill, 2026 — even though police personnel and other law enforcement agencies have themselves been implicated in a significant number of such cases.
The provision has triggered concerns among rights activists and legal experts, particularly as a government-appointed inquiry commission found that police were linked to around 23 percent of the enforced disappearance allegations it examined, while RAB accounted for about 25 percent.
Critics say allowing the police to investigate allegations involving members of the same law enforcement system risks creating a conflict of interest and could undermine the credibility of the entire accountability process.
They are calling for an independent investigative mechanism instead, arguing that victims and families are unlikely to have confidence in a system where agencies accused of involvement in disappearances may also control the investigation.
Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has expressed deep concern that the Cabinet’s in-principle approval of the draft National Human Rights Commission Act, 2026, and the draft Enforced Disappearance Prevention and Redress Act, 2026, ignored the fundamental issues raised in stakeholders’ observations and
recommendations.
It questions with concern whether the government and the ruling party have actually learned any lessons on these fundamental issues from the painful experiences of enforced disappearances, killings, and other brutal and multifaceted human rights violations under the fallen authoritarian regime.
Several positive provisions have been incorporated into the two Cabinet-approved draft Acts
TIB Executive Director Dr. Iftekharuzzaman told The New Nation, “In most cases, allegations of involvement in human rights violations have been made against agencies defined as law enforcement agencies.”
“Yet, under the Cabinet-approved National Human Rights Commission Act, Section 18 of the 2009 Act has been copied exactly, which means the Commission must rely on reports from the government or the heads of the respective forces in cases of human rights violations by law enforcement agencies.”
He said that the weaknesses in the 2009 Act hindered the Commission’s ability to ensure accountability for and prevent violations of human rights committed by the law enforcement agencies.
Likewise, the NHRC has never been able to obtain ‘A’ status under international standards. Moreover, the selection committee for appointing the Chairperson and Commissioners includes the Speaker, the Law Minister, the Home Minister, an MP from the ruling party, and the Cabinet Secretary.
Of the three other members provided for in the committee, the government would effectively retain control over the nomination of at least two of them, creating a serious risk of ensuring the government’s absolute control and dominance over appointments to the National Human Rights Commission, he said.
Speaking to The New Nation, Kazi Reazul Hoque, former chairman of NHRC said that the draft “Enforced Disappearance (Prevention and Remedy) Bill, 2026” proposes giving the police the authority to investigate allegations of enforced disappearances, which is unexpected.
“If the police are given the responsibility of investigating such allegations, it will not be possible to ensure a transparent and impartial investigation, as members of law enforcement and security agencies themselves have been accused of involvement in many cases of enforced disappearance.
“Under the National Human Rights Commission Act, 2009, the police could investigate all kinds of complaints, but they were not allowed to investigate allegations against senior officials.
As a result, investigations were obstructed in the past. We faced many obstacles while working on such cases.
“An effective measure should be taken by establishing an independent commission to investigate cases of enforced disappearance.”
Police among agencies named in disappearance findings
During the interim government, the government-appointed Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances said in its second interim report, submitted on June 4, 2025, that the majority of enforced disappearances it examined had been carried out by different units of the police and intelligence agencies.
The commission specifically identified the Bangladesh Police, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), Detective Branch (DB) and Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) among the main agencies repeatedly named by victims, witnesses and family members.
The commission said personnel from the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), National Security Intelligence (NSI) and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) had also been implicated.
Its report said law enforcement and intelligence agencies involved in such operations had violated or exceeded their standard operating procedures or authorised duties.
The scale of the allegations became clearer when the commission disclosed further findings in January 2026.
According to the commission, RAB was implicated in around 25 percent of the enforced disappearance allegations it examined, while the police accounted for around 23 percent.
DB, CTTC, DGFI and NSI were also implicated in a significant number of cases. The commission described the pattern as institutional and systematic rather than merely a collection of isolated incidents.
Allegations against Bangladeshi law enforcement agencies had also drawn international action years earlier.
On December 10, 2021, the United States imposed Global Magnitsky sanctions on RAB and several serving and former senior officials over serious human rights abuses.
The US Treasury said at the time that rights groups had alleged that RAB and other Bangladeshi law enforcement agencies were responsible for more than 600 disappearances since 2009, alongside allegations of extrajudicial killings and torture.
Human Rights Watch had similarly reported on August 16, 2021 that Bangladeshi rights organisations had documented nearly 600 alleged enforced disappearances by security forces since 2009.
HRW said it had independently verified 86 cases in which the victims’ whereabouts remained unknown at the time.
It also documented allegations involving police and RAB, including cases linked to joint security operations.
What are included in the proposed bill
The proposed law provides for life imprisonment or a minimum of three years’ imprisonment, along with a fine of up to Tk50 lakh, for the offence of enforced disappearance.
If a victim dies or remains missing for five years, the proposed punishment would be death, life imprisonment or a minimum of five years’ imprisonment, along with a fine of up to Tk1 crore.
Under the draft, an investigation would ordinarily have to be completed within 90 days after a case is filed. The investigation period could be extended by up to another 30 days, if necessary.
The bill also removes the requirement for prior government approval before prosecution can proceed.
It further allows trial in absentia in specified circumstances. Trials are to be completed within 90 working days, with the possibility of an additional 30 working days if reasons for the extension are recorded in writing.
