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

Bangladesh government The Cabinet of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশের মন্ত্রিসভা) is the chief executive body of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. The cabinet is the collective decision-making body of the entire government under ...

special interrogation cell operated by Bangladesh's intelligence forces ( Directorate General of Forces Intelligence) and special police units (Rapid Action Battalion). It is located inside

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

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 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

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-Bangladesh suspects. During the

2006–2008 Bangladeshi political crisis The 2006–2008 Bangladeshi political crisis began as a caretaker government (CTG) assumed power at the end of October 2006 following the end of term of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party administration. BNP government increased the age of chief ...

, the Task Force Interrogation 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, 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.

Temporary branch

After the

Bangladesh Rifles mutiny The Bangladesh Rifles revolt (also referred to as the Pilkhana tragedy) was a mutiny staged on 25 and 26 February 2009 in Dhaka by a section of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), a paramilitary force mainly tasked with guarding the borders of Bangl ...

in February 2009, a temporary Taskforce for Interrogation Cell was established inside the headquarters of Bangladesh Rifles 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 (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

. Its members were Additional Inspector General Shah Jamal Raj, chief of Criminal Investigation Department, and Major General Md Mainul Islam, Director General of 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 Government-owned companies of Bangladesh Bangladeshi intelligence agencies Bangladesh Police {{Bangladesh-org-stub