‘Salahuddin was held in Aynaghor before India ordeal’

International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) Chief Prosecutor Aminul Islam said on Saturday that an investigation has found that incumbent Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed was detained at the Task Force for Interrogation (TFI) Cell, widely known as “Aynaghar”, before being sent to India in 2015 during the previous Awami League government’s tenure.

He disclosed the findings while speaking to reporters after visiting the secret detention facility at the Rapid Action Battalion-1 (RAB-1) headquarters in the capital’s Uttara with judges of International Crimes Tribunal-1 (ICT-1).

"The investigation has revealed that the current Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed was also kept in the TFI Cell before being taken to India," Aminul said.

He said the judges visited the facility to inspect the alleged torture cells first-hand, adding that their observations would form part of the judicial memorandum in the ongoing proceedings.

"Those who destroyed evidence to conceal the existence of the so-called ‘Aynaghar’ (House of Mirrors) detention facility will not be spared," he added.

The three-member bench of ICT-1, accompanied by the prosecution team and defence lawyers, inspected the TFI Cell following a tribunal order issued on 21 July.

The case, filed over alleged enforced disappearances and crimes against humanity linked to the TFI Cell, names 17 accused. Ten serving or former army officers have been arrested. They were reportedly serving with RAB at the time of the alleged incidents.

Those still absconding include ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, her former security adviser Tarique Ahmed Siddique, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan, former RAB directors general Benazir Ahmed and M Khurshid Hossain, Harun Or Rashid and Lt Col (retd) Muhammad Khairul Islam.

On 21 July, ICT-1 granted the chief prosecutor's petition seeking permission to inspect the TFI Cell as part of the investigation.

Salahuddin Ahmed disappeared from his residence in Dhaka's Uttara on 10 March 2015. His party alleged that he had been abducted by individuals posing as detectives.

Sixty-two days later, he was found in Shillong, in the Indian state of Meghalaya, where he was arrested for entering the country without valid travel documents. 

A Shillong court acquitted him in 2018, and the verdict was upheld by a higher court in 2023, which directed the Indian government to facilitate his return. He returned to Bangladesh on 11 August 2024 after nearly nine years.

Meanwhile, lawyers representing the accused denied the existence of the TFI Cell and rejected allegations that RAB was involved in enforced disappearances.