A government-appointed investigative commission in Bangladesh has revealed disturbing findings regarding state-sponsored violence during former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s administration. The commission’s comprehensive report, submitted to authorities on Sunday, documents at least 287 confirmed fatalities among 1,569 documented abduction cases investigated.
According to commission member Nur Khan Liton, security forces operating under Hasina’s direct command systematically disposed of victims’ remains in rivers including Dhaka’s Buriganga River, while others were interred in unmarked mass graves scattered across multiple locations. The commission has urgently recommended engaging forensic specialists to conduct DNA identification procedures and preserve genetic samples from bereaved family members.
Victims predominantly belonged to opposition factions including Jamaat-e-Islami, the nation’s largest Islamist party, and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), both political adversaries of Hasina’s regime. In a parallel development, Dhaka police unearthed a mass grave in December containing eight victims from the August 2024 uprising, all exhibiting fatal gunshot wounds according to Criminal Investigation Department chief Md Sibgat Ullah.
The United Nations estimates approximately 1,400 fatalities occurred during Hasina’s violent attempts to retain power before her eventual ousting. The former leader, now sentenced to death in absentia for crimes against humanity in November, faces mounting international condemnation. While families of victims express gratitude for closure regarding their relatives’ fates, they simultaneously demand expedited judicial proceedings against police personnel implicated in the lethal crackdowns.