Staff Correspondent

BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Wednesday alleged that the state has been behind the forced disappearances of BNP central organising secretary and former member of parliament (MP) M Ilias Ali and others.

He made the allegation at a press conference held at BNP central office at Nayapaltan in the capital to mark M Ilias Ali's 12 years of disappearance.

Rizvi said Ilias Ali went missing along with his driver Ansar Ali from in front of South Point School and College at Banani Road No. 2, on April 17, 2012.

The car used by the politician was later found at Mohakhali area in Dhaka the same day, but the two of them could not be traced even after 12 years.

Rizvi said nowadays, it is clear to the country's people that Ilias Ali was the victim of forced disappearance by the "fascist government."

Ilias Ali was a headache for the state and a foreign power as he was the key leader of a mass movement raised in Sylhet area against Tipaimukh Dam and border aggression. He was also active against Hasina's autocratic rule, Rizvi added.

After Ilias Ali's disappearance, the government had staged different dramas in the name of finding him by search, Rizvi claimed.

He said the contents of dramas were sent from the prime minister's office.

Not only Ilias Ali but other BNP leaders like Saiful Islam Hiru, Chowdhury Alam (former councilor), Zahidul Karim Tanvir, Md Mazharul Islam Rasel, Al Amin, Sazedul Islam Sumon, Md Abdul Quader Bhuiyan Masum, Zakir Hossain Munna, Mir Ahmed Bin Quasem, Abdullahil Azmi, Iftekhar Ahmed Dinar and many more also disappeared, he said.

Rizvi ‍said according to the Asian Human Rights Commission, a total of 623 people were the victims of forced disappearances from 2009-2022, further adding that Bangladeshi human rights organisation Odhikar's in its last updated report said that 16 people went missing and disappeared from January to June, 2023.

Quoting the Ain-o-Salish Kendra (ASK), he said about 600 people disappeared in the last 15 years.