A BANGLADESH inquiry commission has alleged India's "involvement" in incidents of "enforced disappearances" during the tenure of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, according to state-run news agency BSS.
The Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha cited the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearance, which stated, "The Indian involvement in Bangladesh's system of enforced disappearances is a matter of public record."
The five-member commission, led by a retired Supreme Court judge, reported a “persistent suggestion in law enforcement circles” that some Bangladeshi detainees might still be imprisoned in Indian jails.
"We recommend the Ministries of Foreign and Home to extend their best efforts to identify any Bangladeshi citizens who may still remain incarcerated in India. It is beyond the jurisdiction of the commission to follow this trail outside Bangladesh," the commission noted.
The report also mentioned intelligence inputs about the practice of prisoner exchanges between Bangladesh and India and the potential fate of those detainees.
Earlier this week, the commission estimated that the number of enforced disappearances in Bangladesh exceeded 3,500.
Sheikh Hasina, 77, fled to India on 5 August following large-scale anti-government protests.
(With inputs from PTI)
Dharavi slum in Mumbai