Evidence of Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun
(former Inspector General of Police) 

My name is Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun, the son of the late Abdul Mannan Chowdhury. My current age is approximately 62 years. My address is village XXX Police Station XXX District – Sunamganj, and my current address is XXX.

I am a former Inspector General of Police (IGP), currently retired. I am in jail custody as an accused in this case.

I joined the Bangladesh Police in 1989 as an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) from the 1986 batch of police officers. Before becoming the IGP, I was the DIG of the Dhaka Range, the Chief of CID, and the Director General (DG) of RAB.

I served as the Director General and finally as the IGP. I served as the IGP from September 30, 2022, to August 6, 2024.

After my arrest in this case, I willingly expressed my desire to give a confessional statement on March 24, 2025.

The Investigating Officer sent me to the Honorable Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Mr. Md. Zakir Hossain, on March 24, 2025, and I provided my confessional statement to him on that day. This is that confessional statement (Material Exhibit-15). My signature is on every page of the statement. These are my signatures (Exhibit 15/1 Series).

Subsequently, after the charges were framed at the Honorable Tribunal, I pleaded guilty and applied to become an approver, pledging to reveal the complete truth, and the Honorable Tribunal granted that application. Today, I am giving testimony before the Honorable Tribunal to fulfill my pledge to disclose the complete truth.

I was a student at Chittagong University. I was not actively involved in politics. My father was involved in Awami League politics. He was the Chairman of Shalla Upazila in Sunamganj in 1999.

I was supposed to retire on January 11, 2023. I was first given an extension as IGP for one and a half years, and then for another year. Among the senior officers, there was a grouping centered in Gopalganj for promotion to the post of IGP. I was given an extension to prevent this grouping from becoming public and to protect the honor of the police.

After the Awami League returned to power following the 2014 election, there was widespread political polarization in the police force, and a nexus centered in Gopalganj was created. Police officers became involved in various political activities and became active in implementing the government’s agenda. For these reasons, the opportunity for senior officers to control the police became limited.

During the 2018 election, I was the DIG of the Dhaka Range. Mr. Javed Patwary was the IGP at that time. I learned that he advised the then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to fill 50% of the ballot boxes on the night before the election. Based on the government’s expectation, the DC, ASP, UNO, AC Land, OC, and party leaders and workers implemented this instruction. The police officers who properly executed these instructions were rewarded by the state with BPM and PPM medals.

After the 2018 election, political interference and influence in the police increased further. Some police officers became known as influential. They had direct contact with high-ranking government authorities and political leaders. Meetings were often held late at night at the residence of the then Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and would continue until the deep hours. The police officers who participated in these meetings included the then DMP Commissioner Habibur Rahman, Additional Commissioner of DB Harunur Rashid, Additional IG of SB Monirul Islam, DIG of Dhaka Nazrul Islam, Additional DIG Biplob Kumar, Additional SP Kafi, OC Mazhar, OC Forman, OC Apoorbo Hasan, and several other officers. Some of them had direct contact with the then Prime Minister. Due to having direct contact with senior government authorities and political figures, these police officers did not follow the chain of command. However, I wanted them to perform their duties maintaining professionalism.

There were mainly two groups of influential police officials. One group was led by the then DMP Commissioner Habibur Rahman, and the other group was led by the then SP.

I was the Chief of RAB from April 14, 2020, to September 30, 2022. I came to know that there was a detention center named TFIC (Task Force Interrogation Cell) inside the compound of North RAB-1, which was run by the headquarters. There were many other detention centers under other RAB units. In these detention centers, political opponents and individuals who posed a threat to the government were detained and tortured. This became a culture. Acts like abduction, detention in secret prisons, torture, and killing through ‘crossfire’ were coordinated by the ADG (Operations) of RAB and the Director of RAB Intelligence (RAB Int.). I heard that instructions to abduct, detain, or kill any person by RAB came directly from the Prime Minister’s Office. I came to know that these instructions came through Tarique Siddique, the then Prime Minister’s Security and Military Advisor. These instructions were sent directly to the ADG (Operations) and the Directors of RAB Intelligence (RAB Int.), bypassing the chain of command.

When I joined as the DG of RAB, my predecessor RAB Director Benazir Ahmed informed me that Barrister Arman was detained in the TFIC cell. After I joined, the Director of RAB Intelligence (int)., Lt. Colonel Sarwar Bin Kashem, also confirmed the matter to me. The ADG (Operations) of RAB and the Director of RAB Intelligence (RAB Int.) were generally appointed from the Army. I presented the matter of Barrister Arman’s detention in the TFIC cell to the then Prime Minister’s Military and Security Advisor, Major General (Retired) Tarique Siddique, multiple times and asked for a decision on the matter. He informed me that he would let me know later, but he never made any decision subsequently. When I handed over the responsibility as the Director General of RAB, I informed the subsequent Director, Khurshid Hossain, about Barrister Arman.

Among the RAB officers, I knew two officers, Additional SP Aleph Uddin and SP Mohiuddin Farooq, who were particularly adept at abducting, torturing, and killing detainees. Aleph Uddin was initially in Narayanganj. Later, he was posted to RAB Intel at the suggestion of the ADG (Operations) of RAB. During my tenure as DG of RAB, Lt. Colonel Sarwar Bin Kashem, Lt. Colonel Khairul Islam, and Lt. Colonel Moshiur Rahman served as Director Intel of RAB. Additionally, Colonel Tofail, Colonel Azad, and Colonel Kamrul served as ADG (Operations).

Although I knew during my tenure as DG of RAB that people were being illegally detained, tortured, and some killed in crossfire by RAB. However, I did not conduct any investigation or take any action regarding these matters. Decisions on these matters came from various intelligence agencies, and in most cases, the chain of command was not followed. Due to these activities by RAB, sanctions were imposed on the RAB force and its officials by the American State Department.

After the July 2024 movement began, the army was deployed across the country. Following this, starting from July 19, 2024, a meeting of the Core Committee was held almost every night at the then Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal’s official residence in Dhanmondi. There, various instructions were given by the government, including suppressing the movement. The Core Committee included me, former Home Secretary Jahangir, the Home Minister, Additional Secretary (Political) Tipu Sultan, Additional Secretary Reza Mostafa, SB Chief Manjurul Islam, DB Chief Harunur Rashid, DMP Commissioner Barrister Harunur Rashid, DMP Commissioner Habibur Rahman, DG BGB Major General Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui, DG Ansar Major General AKM Aminul Haque, NTMC Chief Major General Ziaul Ahsan, DGFI Chief, and NSI Chief. In one Core Committee meeting, the decision was made to detain the coordinators of the anti-discrimination movement. DGFI proposed this. I initially opposed it, but I agreed upon the instruction of the Home Minister. DB Chief Harunur Rashid was given this responsibility. As per the Home Minister’s decision, DGFI and DB detained them and took them into DB custody. They were pressured to compromise with the government regarding the movement. Their relatives were also brought in by DB and subjected to the same pressure. The coordinators were forced to issue a statement on TV withdrawing the movement. DB Chief Harunur Rashid played a leading role in this matter. The DB Chief Harunur Rashid was referred to as a “Jinn” because he was skilled at implementing government work.

At one stage of the movement, surveillance of protesters, location tracking, and attempts to suppress the movement by shooting them using helicopters and drones were made. The use of helicopters and drones was a political decision by the government, the suggestion for which was given by the then RAB Chief Barrister Harunur Rashid. Subsequently, the decision was made to use lethal weapons directly to suppress the movement and to blockade the protest-prone areas by dividing them into blocks. Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal called me and informed me that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had instructed the direct use of lethal weapons to suppress the movement. At that time, I was present at the Police Headquarters, and Additional DIG Proloy Joarder was present in front of me. When I informed Proloy Joarder of the Prime Minister’s instruction, he left my room and conveyed this instruction to the DMP and nationwide. This instruction was given on July 18, 2024, and the use of lethal weapons began on that day. As per the said instruction, DMP Commissioner Harunur Rashid instructed his subordinate officers to use lethal weapons. DMP Commissioner Habibur Rahman and DB Chief Harunur Rashid were overzealous in the use of lethal weapons. The Home Minister’s instruction was to suppress the movement at any cost. Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, Law Minister Anisul Huq, Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor Fazle Noor Taposh, Prime Minister’s Advisor Salman F Rahman, Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader, Jahangir Kabir Nanak, Information and Communication Technology Minister Md. Arafat, Mirza Azam, Hasanul Haq Inu, and Rashed Khan Menon provoked the Prime Minister to use lethal weapons.

On July 14, 2024, after returning home from a visit to China, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in response to a journalist’s question at a press conference, said, “If the grandchildren of freedom fighters do not get jobs, will the children and grandchildren of collaborators get jobs?” Following that comment, intense excitement was created among the protesting students and the public, and the movement became severe across the country. Then, on July 15, 2024, Obaidul Quader and Jahangir Kabir Nanak commented that the Chhatra League and Jubo League were enough to suppress the movement. Following this statement, Chhatra League and Jubo League workers attacked the protesting students at Dhaka University and various places across the country. The police played a passive role then.

Countless students and members of the public were injured and killed during the movement by the use of drones, helicopters, and lethal weapons.

In addition to the Awami League’s political forces, Awami League-aligned intellectuals, journalists, cultural workers, and businessmen encouraged the government to suppress the movement.

On August 4, 2024, at 11 am, the Security Coordination Committee held a meeting at Gonobhaban, chaired by the Prime Minister. Besides the Prime Minister, those present at the meeting included Law Minister Anisul Huq, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, the chiefs of the three forces, the SB Chief, the DGFI Chief, and the NSI Chief, totaling 27 people. I was also present at this meeting. Discussions focused on suppressing and controlling the movement. The intelligence agencies presented reports on the situation during the meeting. As the overall situation was deteriorating rapidly, the meeting was adjourned.

On the night of August 4, 2024, we were called back to Gonobhaban. There, I, the Law Minister, the Home Minister, the chiefs of the three forces, and the DG of RAB, Lt. General Mujibur, were present. At that time, the Prime Minister and her sister, Sheikh Rehana, were present. The DGFI Chief and SB Chief Monirul were waiting outside. That meeting discussed the plan to stop the student-public ‘March to Dhaka’ program scheduled for August 5. The decision there was that the police and the army would perform their duties respectfully.

Afterward, we went to the Operation Control Room, where the chiefs of various government forces and high-ranking officials, including myself, were present. The decision was made there to stop the movement and to take a strict stance at the various entry points of Dhaka. The meeting ended at 12:00 midnight. We left the Army Operation Room. 

On the morning of August 5, 2024, I went to my office at the Police Headquarters. Meanwhile, students and the public began pouring into Dhaka city from Uttara, Jatrabari, and various other routes. Around 12 to 1 PM, I learned that the Prime Minister would be stepping down. We did not know where she would go after leaving office. Later in the afternoon, an army helicopter came and took us from the Police Headquarters, first to the Tejgaon Airport helipad, and from there to the Cantonment Officers’ Mess. SB Chief Monirul, DMP Commissioner Harunur Rashid, and DIG Amena were with me on the helicopter. In the next shift, Additional DIG Proloy, Additional IG Lutfor Kabir, and others were brought there.

On August 06, 2024, I was situated at the cantonment and my job as the IGP was terminated and on 3^rdSeptember, I was arrested. 

During the movement, on July 27, 2024, Harunur Rashid, HS, DMP Commissioner, and I went to Narayanganj to observe the situation of the movement. On the way, we stayed briefly in front of the Jatrabari Police Station. At that time, DC Iqbal of the Wari Zone showed the Home Minister a video on his mobile phone. While watching the video, Iqbal said, “If one person dies from a bullet, one person is injured, that’s why the rest do not go forward.”

As the Police Chief, I am ashamed, remorseful, and apologetic for the excessive use of force against the protesters, which resulted in their injuries and deaths, carried out under the government’s order to suppress the anti-discrimination movement. I decided to become an approver because of the guilt and the urgency of the statement, as a result of the widespread brutal killings that occurred during the July movement. After coming to the Tribunal and hearing the cries and wails of those who lost relatives, the statements of doctor victims about being prevented from providing treatment, and seeing the brutality in the videos, the decision to become an approver seemed even more justified. The horror of burning the dead bodies after killing them deeply disturbed me.

I served in the police for thirty-six and a half years. Police work is a very tricky job. There are always complaints against the police. I never had any complaint against me during my career. I always performed my duty with sufficient humanity and awareness. I admit my fault for such a large-scale massacre taking place during my tenure at the end of my career. This massacre was carried out on the instructions of the then Prime Minister and Home Minister.

I apologize to every family that was a victim of the massacre, the injured individuals, the people of the country, and the Honorable Tribunal (The witness becomes emotional and tearful at this point).

Please forgive me.

If the truth is revealed through this honest and complete description of mine, and if God grants me a longer life, I will be partially relieved of my guilt for the rest of my life.

This is my statement.

This was added later:

After the death of Abu Sayeed, a student of Begum Rokeya University in Rangpur, then Adviser Salman F. Rahman called me to obtain the post-mortem report and asked about the cause of the delay. I replied that the appropriate authorities were causing the delay in issuing the post-mortem report.

Cross Examination by state appointed defense lawyer Amir Hossain

I served as the DIG of Dhaka Range for about one and a half years starting from 2016. From the end of 2019 to April 2020, I served as the head of CID. From 14-04-20 to 30-09-22, I served as the head of RAB.

It is not true that while studying at the University of Chittagong I was actively involved in politics. Yes, I was a supporter of the Socialist Student Front. My father was the president of the Upazila Awami League for a long time. My younger brother was involved in Awami League politics.

It is not true that in order to be promoted to the position of IGP there was a secret Gopalganj-centered grouping among senior officers, and it is false that I said I was granted an extension to preserve the reputation of the police.

It is not true that I lobbied for an extension after retirement in order to become IGP. I agreed to the first extension, but during the second extension, I was not interested. I informed the Principal Secretary (Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister) of my lack of interest. It is not true that I did not inform the Chief Secretary.

It is not true that after the 2014 election there were massive changes in the police force and that a Gopalganj-centered circle was created—what I said in this regard is false.

Despite so many irregularities and injustices, I did not decide to resign. It is not true that I benefitted from those irregularities and injustices.

As the DIG of Dhaka Range, I controlled and supervised my subordinates according to rules and regulations. In meetings between the IGP and DIGs, DIGs were given the opportunity to express their opinions.

I came to know through my sources that Javed Patwary advised the then Prime Minister to fill 50% of the ballot boxes in advance. I learned about this matter after the election. When I came to know about irregularities in the election, I instructed my subordinates to refrain from irregularities. Some complied, some did not. I do not remember the names of those who did not comply.

The Prime Minister did not give any written instructions to fill 50% of the ballot boxes. We are not bound to obey any illegal order from the government. It is not true that by following illegal orders of the government I myself committed crimes. It is not true that DCs, SPs, and UNOs were instructed by the government accordingly—this is false.

Yes, I received PPM and BPM awards both before and after 2018. I also received awards that were given in connection with the 2018 election.

[nb: when asked about the reason behind receiving the rewards by the defense lawyer Amir hossain, at first he replied saying it was due to election. However, later due to interruption by prosecution , he corrected himself stating he does not remember why he received them.]

 I do not remember why I received them. By “government authority” I meant the Prime Minister, the Home Minister, the General Secretary of the Awami League, and the Minister of Bridges. By “higher authority” it also refers to me. It is not true that those whom I held responsible were not actually responsible.

Even when I was IGP, late-night meetings used to be held at the Home Minister’s residence. I did not attend those meetings. I forbade those who used to attend at night, but they did not listen. I did not take any action against them. I learned about this through various sources. Despite so many crimes, I did not attempt to resign.

[nb: At this point, the judge asks the defense counsel about why he was repeating his suggestions and Amir hossain replied saying he will ask this question many more times to showcase the inefficiency of the witness as an IGP.]

 I believed in the information provided by sources.

The detention facility of RAB was under the control of RAB. I did not take any steps against the above-mentioned use of RAB. It is not true that Barrister Arman was detained at my instruction. I tried to have Barrister Arman, who was detained in RAB’s detention facility, released or to resolve the matter legally. Former Prime Minister’s Security Adviser Tariq Siddiqui was not my subordinate. I did not take any measures against Additional SP Alem Uddin and SP Mohiuddin. It is true that I neglected my responsibilities. For this reason, I pled guilty.

Issuing instructions to suppress movements is lawful, but shooting and killing peaceful demonstrators is not lawful. In the early stages, the meetings at the Home Minister’s residence did not contain orders to open fire, but later on, instructions to fire began to emerge. I was also a member of the Core Committee. Despite such crimes, I did not resign. It is false that there was no decision to use lethal weapons to suppress the movement. By lethal weapons, I meant that if firearms are used to fire, it results in human death.

The police force generally uses rifles, SMGs, LMGs, pistols, and revolvers. Usually, outside metropolitan areas, when it comes to orders to fire, we use firearms as per the orders of the magistrate. I do not know that 700 policemen were killed in that movement. It is not true that I was an incompetent police chief. Sniper shots and rifle shots are different. While staying at the cantonment, I only watched television.

I do not remember the statement of former adviser to the present government, Sakhawat Hossain, that “police did not use lethal weapons.” The student movement was legitimate. Yes, although I knew the student movement was legitimate, I had to oppose it while carrying out my government duties. It is not true that the above statement is false