Taskforce for Interrogation Cell
The Taskforce for Interrogation Cell, also known as TFI Cell, is a Bangladesh government special interrogation cell operated by Bangladesh's intelligence forces and special police units. It is located inside Rapid Action Battalion headquarters in Uttara, Dhaka. The Guardian described it as Bangladesh's most notorious torture cell. The other interrogation cell is called the Joint Interrogation Cell.
History
According to The Guardian, the Taskforce for Interrogation Cell uses various forms of torture to interrogate suspects, including British citizens suspected of being terrorists. The task force 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 Bangladeshi news organisations, such as The Daily Star. The editor of The Daily Star expressed regret over using information provided by the cell.
Brigadier General 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 case in 2009.
In 2012, a special committee of the Parliament of Bangladesh recommended the closure of the Taskforce for Interrogation Cell and recommended restricting the involvement of the 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.