Former RAB intelligence official and National Telecommunications Monitoring Centre Director General Maj Gen (retd) Ziaul Ahsan allegedly took detainees to “golf operations”, where they were shot dead, their abdomens cut open and cement-filled sacks tied to their bodies before they were dumped into rivers or the sea, a witness testified today (17 September).
Testifying before ICT-1 in the case against Ziaul, who faces charges over the enforced disappearance and killing of more than 100 people, former RAB-8 deputy commander Major (retd) Sabbir Rahman Osmani alleged that Ziaul led the “golf operations” carried out by the RAB intelligence wing in the Barishal region.
Sabbir said the operations were conducted in areas including Patharghata and the Sundarbans between 2010 and 2012.
Patharghata operation
Describing a January 2010 operation in Patharghata, Osmani said Ziaul took him and the then battalion commander to Char Duani, where a trawler was waiting with a handcuffed, black-hooded man kept in the trawler’s fish hold.
After the trawler reached the estuary and the water depth was checked, the man was brought out and surrounded by four intelligence members.
One tied two cement-filled sacks to his neck and legs, another pressed a small pillow against his head near the ear and shot him with a pistol, while a third cut open his abdomen. The fourth inserted his hand into the wound and examined it. After an “all clear” signal, they dumped the body into the water, Osmani testified.
Ziaul allegedly told him the detainee was “harmful to the state” and this was how he had to be “golfed”. Osmani said this was the first time he heard the term “golf operation”. Ziaul also allegedly said the highest level of the state was aware.
In May 2010, a body surfaced in the Baleshwar River with its face covered, abdomen cut open and a cement sack attached. Intelligence information indicated DNA testing had identified it as former BGB member Nazrul.
In June 2011, Ziaul allegedly ordered Osmani to “eliminate” trawler operator Alkas Majhi after he allegedly discussed the “golf operations” at Char Duani market. Osmani refused, citing illness, to which Ziaul replied, “Leave it; it’s not necessary.”
About a week later, Alkas’s wife came to the battalion commander’s office, saying Alkas had been called away four or five days earlier after being told he would be put on the phone with Ziaul. Alkas subsequently disappeared, Osmani testified.
Nishankhali encounter
In November 2011, during an operation in Nishankhali, an intelligence advance team reached the area near Nishankhali canal, close to the alleged base of pirate Raju, before the main team arrived, Osmani said.
A whistle from the forest prompted Ziaul to order the main team to open fire. Later, only two bodies were found along with weapons and ammunition, but battalion headquarters was told that six bodies had been recovered.
Osmani later learned that the intelligence team had brought four more bodies and killed the men before showing them as casualties of the operation.
Four detainees allegedly killed in Katka
In February 2012, an intelligence team left Char Duani in a trawler the night before an operation south of Katka Forest Station, carrying five hooded and handcuffed people in the fish hold.
Near the estuary, four detainees were taken out one by one, shot and dumped into the river on Ziaul’s instructions, while the fifth remained handcuffed in the fish hold, Osmani said.
The trawler then returned to the main operation site, where a reported gunfight with criminals was followed by the recovery of four bodies. Three were identified, and one remained unidentified. Osmani believed the unidentified body was that of the fifth detainee.
Mora Bhola operation
During another operation in Mora Bhola in March 2012, the intelligence advance team again arrived before the main force. Gunfire was later heard, prompting Ziaul to order the main team to fire.
About 30 minutes later, weapons, ammunition and five bodies were “recovered”, Osmani said.
He considered the operations staged because intelligence teams arrived before the main force, whistles were sometimes used as signals, and automatic weapons were heard despite the alleged robbers not having such weapons.
Photos and videos later showed senior RAB headquarters officers in civilian clothes, without weapons or body armour, moving around while the main team was engaged in the operation, he testified.
‘Golf operations’ continued for years
Osmani said Ziaul conducted around 15 to 20 “golf operations” in the Barishal region to his knowledge. He said he could not accept what was happening but felt compelled to follow the command structure.
As a major, he could complain only to his commander, who allegedly told him, “Who will control Zia?”
Osmani later sought voluntary retirement after serving 18 years in RAB. He was ordered back to his parent force in August 2013 and went on pre-retirement leave in March 2014.
The prosecution filed formal charges against Ziaul on 17 December last year on three counts related to the disappearance and killing of more than 100 people. The tribunal ordered the trial to begin on 14 January. Ziaul was arrested in mid-August 2024 following the fall of the Awami League government.
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