Enforced disappearances: Inquiry commission confirms of 8 secret prisons centres

The inquiry commission on enforced disappearances on Tuesday announced the discovery of eight secret detention centres in Dhaka and its surrounding areas.

In a press briefing, the commission refrained from disclosing the ownership of these sites to avoid compromising the ongoing investigation.

"We found a cell operated by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) measuring just 3.5 by 4 feet. There was no source of light except a small peephole, and no sanitation system except for a drain, forcing the inhabitant to perform all basic functions there. People had been confined in such cells for years," Nur Khan Liton, a member of the commission, said while briefing at its office.

The commission has scrutinised 400 allegations, of whom, 172 are linked to RAB, 37 are linked to the police's Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit, 26 are linked to the Directorate General Forces Intelligence, 55 are linked to the Detective Branch, 25 are linked to the police and 68 are "others".

The commission raised concerns about "attempts to destroy evidence" linked to these secret cells.

"Law enforcement agencies are destroying cells and walls. Those involved in this destruction will likely be unwilling to cooperate. Current officers will become complicit in the crimes of their past officers," said Nabila Idris, another member of the commission.

The press briefing was led by the commission's Chairman Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury.