Retired police officer jailed over 2012 abduction of war crimes trial witness
A Dhaka court has ordered the detention of retired Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Mohammad Fazlur Rahman in connection with the 2012 abduction of Sukharanjan Bali, a key defense witness in the war crimes trial of Jamaat-e-Islami leader Delawar Hossain Sayedee. Metropolitan Magistrate Mahbub Alam issued the incarceration order on Friday following a hearing requested by the investigation agency of the International Crimes Tribunal.
Fazlur Rahman was arrested by the Detective Branch of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police at his residence in Badda on Thursday night. He was subsequently handed over to the tribunal's investigation agency. While the former officer remained in the court’s holding cell during Friday’s proceedings, investigators successfully petitioned for his continued detention pending the conclusion of the probe.
The disappearance of Sukharanjan Bali became a focal point of controversy during the 2012 war crimes proceedings. On November 5 of that year, Bali arrived at the International Crimes Tribunal to testify for Sayedee. According to investigators, he was forcibly intercepted by unidentified men in plainclothes outside the court and taken away in a double-cabin vehicle.
Court documents indicate that Bali was held in an undisclosed location, blindfolded, and subjected to physical torture for approximately two months. He was eventually transported across the border into India, where he remained imprisoned in Dum Dum Central Jail for five years. His plight gained international attention after media reports prompted his son, Apoorba Bali, to secure his bail and facilitate his return to Bangladesh.
The investigation agency maintains that evidence links Fazlur Rahman to the operation. Investigators allege that on the day of the abduction, Rahman and his team utilized two Detective Branch vehicles to seize Bali from the tribunal premises, transfer him to a detention facility, and subsequently orchestrate his forced expulsion from the country.
This legal development follows a formal complaint lodged by Bali on August 21, 2024, shortly after the collapse of the Awami League administration. In his testimony, Bali alleged that he was targeted specifically for his refusal to testify against Sayedee and his subsequent decision to provide defense testimony.
His complaint names 32 individuals, including former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, former Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, and several former cabinet ministers and judicial officials. The case remains a significant investigation into systemic abuses allegedly perpetrated by state authorities during the tribunal’s active years.
