Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed becomes emotional while recounting his 61 days in enforced disappearance

"I even feared that I would die in a foreign land in a state of madness, and my family might not even be able to see my grave." Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed became emotional while recounting his harrowing memories of the 61 days he spent in enforced disappearance, saying these words.

He was also overcome with emotion while recalling his first contact with his family after being rescued in India. Recounting the moment when he spoke to his wife over the phone, the home minister also remembered how she burst into tears during the call.

Salahuddin Ahmed shared these memories of his own disappearance at a discussion organised Saturday, at the auditorium of the National Museum in Shahbagh, Dhaka, bringing together victims of enforced disappearance and their family members.

The event was organised by ‘Mayer Daak’, an organisation of relatives of victims of enforced disappearance, to mark International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances on 30 August.

The discussion was titled ‘Want Law, Justice, Accountability and Human Rights to Bring Back or Trace Missing Persons’. Salahuddin Ahmed was the chief guest at the event.

Salahuddin Ahmed went missing from Uttara in the capital in early 2015, during the rule of the now-ousted Awami League government. At the time, he was a joint secretary general of the Bangladesh nationalist Party (BNP).

The BNP then alleged that people from an intelligence agency had taken Salahuddin Ahmed away. Sixty-two days later, on 11 May, police in Shillong, Meghalaya, India, rescued him in the Indian state bordering Sylhet. At the time, Indian police said he was detained after receiving calls from members of the public while Salahuddin was wandering around Shillong in a disoriented state.

Salahuddin Ahmed said he was kept in a small room for 61 days. The room was about 8 feet by 4 feet. There was a water tap in the room. There was also a narrow opening for relieving himself. He believed it was connected to a drain. A foul smell came from there.

Salahuddin Ahmed said, “A blanket was spread on the floor. That was where I slept. There was also a pillow. There was no proper environment for sleeping normally.”

The home minister said he was given breakfast once and meals twice a day. He said he was also given water, but even when he fell ill, he was not taken to a physician. He had a heart condition.

Mentioning that an electric fan was kept running outside the door at all times, he said, “There was a small gap above the door. Air would come through it.” He said he believed that without that airflow, he could have suffocated and died within a few hours.

Salahuddin said that one day, when those holding him came to give him food and received no response, they opened the door. They found him unwell. Later, when he was being taken for questioning, his eyes were blindfolded with a piece of cloth.

Salahuddin Ahmed said he was put into a vehicle while blindfolded. Hearing the sound of the vehicle door opening, he realised that it was probably a microbus. After travelling in the vehicle for several hours, they stopped at a place.

He was made to wait there for some time. Later, deep into the night, he was put into the vehicle again. He tried to determine the condition of the road by feeling it with his feet. He was then taken in a vehicle resembling a jeep. After that, he was taken to another place and kept there while still blindfolded.

Salahuddin Ahmed said he could hear some people talking there. He spoke with them for a long time. At one point, an official told him, "Kamruzzaman shaheb (who was convicted and sentenced for crimes against humanity) has already been executed." As Salahuddin Ahmed had been held for 61 days, he had no knowledge of any news from outside. The official was surprised to hear this.

Having not eaten anything all day, he asked for food. He was then given noodles. His hands were still tied at the time. He had to eat with a spoon while his hands were tied. When he needed to urinate, he was taken with great difficulty to relieve himself.

He was then kept there for several more hours. Later, his blindfold was removed, but those who had taken him there covered their own eyes again so that he could not identify them.

Salahuddin Ahmed said, “Later, I was dropped off in an isolated area. It was around sunrise. There was a large open space beside me. That was where I was left.”

Salahuddin Ahmed said that after seeing several people, he asked them where the place was. He tried to speak to them in Hindi and English, but at first, they thought he was mentally unstable or mad.

Later, after seeing a billboard nearby, Salahuddin realised that he was in Shillong, in India’s Meghalaya state. He then asked local people to inform the police, and shortly afterwards, the police arrived and took him away.

Mentioning that the police took him to a police station, Salahuddin Ahmed said, “I was questioned there. Later, I was taken to a civilian hospital. I gave the physician my identity and telephone number and also requested him to contact my family.”

However, saying that the police thought he was mentally unstable, Salahuddin Ahmed said he was then taken to a psychiatric hospital. There, he spoke to a psychiatrist. He gave the psychiatrist his telephone number and asked him to arrange contact with his family. His photograph was also taken. He said the photograph was later published.

Salahuddin Ahmed said he tried to convince the physician that he was not mentally ill, but he was kept at the hospital. He was kept there alongside psychiatric patients. He was given medication for mental illness. He was not even allowed to wear his glasses. His hair and beard were cut.

Salahuddin Ahmed said that at one point, he thought he might die in a foreign land in a state of madness. His family might never even be able to see his grave. In that situation, he prayed to Allah.

One day, the hospital informed him that there was a telephone call for him. His wife had called. While speaking to his wife on the phone, he realised that his family had found out where he was. He became emotional while recalling the memory. He said that his wife had also broken down and wept uncontrollably while speaking to him on the mobile phone.

Salahuddin said arrangements were then made to get him out of there. The police and physicians prepared the necessary documents. A local organisation gave him a shirt and a blanket. He was then taken to a civil hospital.

At that time, he saw a television camera from a distance. Looking towards the camera, he said, "Yes, I am Salahuddin." The video was later sent to Bangladesh, and people in the country saw it.

Salahuddin Ahmed then had to go through legal proceedings. After a lengthy legal battle, he returned to Bangladesh following the mass uprising of 2024. At the event, Salahuddin Ahmed recalled the entire episode of his enforced disappearance and rescue.

He thanked those who took part in the July mass uprising. He said, “Because of the July mass uprising, I was able to return home from India. I am grateful to those who fought in July.”

Salahuddin Ahmed was Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s assistant private secretary (APS) in 1991. He later left the civil service and entered politics. In 2001, he was elected a member of parliament from Cox’s Bazar. After the BNP came to power, he became state minister for communications.

The BNP boycotted the parliamentary election held on 5 January 2014. Many senior BNP leaders, including the party’s secretary general, were arrested during the anti-government movement.

At the time, Salahuddin remained in hiding and issued statements as the party’s spokesperson and spoke to the media. Against this backdrop, he mysteriously went missing from a house in Uttara, in the capital, on 10 March 2015.

Indian police showed Salahuddin Ahmed arrested under the Foreigners Act on allegations of entering India without valid documents. An infiltration case was later filed against him, and charges were framed on 23 July 2016.

In the case, a lower court in Shillong acquitted Salahuddin Ahmed on 26 October 2018. The Indian government appealed against the verdict. Later on 28 February 2023, the Shillong district court acquitted Salahuddin Ahmed.

While he was detained in India, he was nominated as a member of the BNP’s highest policy-making forum at the party’s sixth national council.