Taskforce for Interrogation Cell (), also known as TFI Cell, is a

Bangladesh government The government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh () is the central government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Constitution of Bangladesh comprising the executive (the president, prime minister and cabinet), the le ...

special interrogation cell operated by Bangladesh's intelligence forces (

Directorate General of Forces Intelligence The Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (), commonly known by its acronym DGFI, is the defense intelligence agency of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, tasked with collection, collation and evaluation of strategic and topographic informatio ...

) and special police units (Rapid Action Battalion). It is located inside

Rapid Action Battalion Rapid Action Battalion (; abbreviated as RAB) is an anti-crime and anti-terrorism unit of the Bangladesh Police. This elite force consists of members of the Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Navy, Bangladesh Air Force, Bangladesh Police, Border Guard ...

headquarters in Uttara, Dhaka. ''The Guardian'' described it as Bangladesh's most notorious torture cell. The other interrogation cell is called Joint Interrogation Cell.

History

According to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' the Taskforce for Interrogation Cell uses various forms of torture to interrogate suspects, including British citizens suspected of being terrorists. The Taskforce has coordinated interrogation activities with MI5 and MI6 of Britain, when interrogating British-Bangladeshi suspects. During the 2006–2008 Bangladeshi political crisis, the Taskforce for Interrogation Cell provided information on corruption by politicians to Bangladesh news organisations, such as '' The Daily Star''. The editor of ''The Daily Star'' expressed regret over using information provided by the cell. Brigadier General (retired) Abdur Rahim, former director general of

National Security Intelligence The National Security Intelligence, commonly known as the NSI, is the principal civilian intelligence agency of Bangladesh. The NSI is the leading body of the Government of Bangladesh in the fields of internal security, counter terrorism, coun ...

, was interrogated at the Taskforce for Interrogation Cell after his arrest in the

2004 arms and ammunition haul in Chittagong The incident of the 10-Truck Arms and Ammunition Haul took place in Chattogram, Bangladesh, on the night of 1 April 2004, when police and Coast Guard interrupted the loading of ten trucks and seized extensive illegal arms and ammunition at a jett ...

case in 2009. In 2012, a special committee of the Parliament of Bangladesh recommended the closure of Taskforce for Interrogation Cell and recommended restricting the involvement of Directorate General of Forces Intelligence in national politics. In August 2024, after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina led Awami League government, security forces destroyed this along with other secret detention centers.

Temporary branch

After the Bangladesh Rifles mutiny in February 2009, a temporary Taskforce for Interrogation Cell was established inside the headquarters of

Bangladesh Rifles Border Guard Bangladesh (abbr. BGB; ) is a paramilitary force responsible for the border security of Bangladesh. The BGB is entrusted with the responsibility to defend the border of Bangladesh with India and Myanmar. It was formerly known as th ...

in Pilkhana, Dhaka. It was closed down in January 2010 following allegations of torture under a supervision of a government committee. The committee was led by Additional Secretary Md Ghulam Hussain of the

Ministry of Home Affairs An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the i ...

. Its members were Additional Inspector General Shah Jamal Raj, chief of

Criminal Investigation Department The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is the branch of a police force to which most plainclothes criminal investigation, detectives belong in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth nations. A force's CID is disti ...

, and Major General Md Mainul Islam, director general of the Bangladesh Rifles. During interrogation, 67 mutineers died in custody. The bodies of some of the dead soldiers showed signs of torture.

References

Organisations based in Dhaka Government agencies of Bangladesh Bangladeshi intelligence agencies Bangladesh Police {{Bangladesh-org-stub

History

Temporary branch

See also

References