Eight years after the killing of Teknaf municipality councillor and former Jubo League leader Ekramul Haque, investigators say a 14-minute audio recording captured during the incident has become the breakthrough evidence that identified key suspects in the case.
Investigators traced those allegedly involved through the digital footprint of the audio clip, SMS records exchanged among members of the operation, and multiple digital devices and data seized from former Director General of the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre (NTMC) Ziaul Ahsan.
Digital forensic experts have identified voices in the recording believed to belong to Brigadier General Miftah Uddin Ahmed and former RAB-7 Squadron Leader Nazmus Sakib, both accused in the case. Based on the findings, Brig Gen Miftah was taken into custody at around 10:30pm on Monday. Sakib remains absconding.
Ekramul’s widow, Ayesha Begum, first made the audio public during a press conference at the Cox’s Bazar Press Club on 31 May 2018.
Digital forensic expert Tanvir Hassan Zoha told TIMES of Bangladesh that the recording contains a voice believed to be Nazmus Sakib shouting operational instructions such as, “Move this away,” “Keep it here,” and “Put it over there.”
“Initially, there was speculation that the voice belonged to Major Ruhul Amin. Further analysis, however, matched it with Sakib’s voice, although Major Ruhul Amin also remains under investigation,” Zoha said.
Using open-source forensic software, investigators analysed the frequency and wavelength of the voices in the recording and found preliminary evidence indicating that the voice heard in the clip matches Sakib’s. The audio also captures conversations among law enforcement personnel, repeated whistle commands, and operational instructions.
Zoha said investigators also found that several mobile phone numbers used by Ekramul had been repeatedly triggered three to four days before the killing and that location-related records and other digital evidence had been recovered. He noted that the forensic process is not yet complete and that official voice comparison and archiving by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) will be conducted after the suspects’ voice samples are collected.
Chief Prosecutor Aminul Islam said the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has issued arrest warrants against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and eight other absconding accused in connection with the killing.
Former Awami League MP Abdur Rahman Bodi, Anwar Latif Khan Tushar, and Mohammad Mahbub Alam, who are already in custody in other cases, have also been shown arrested in this case.
Aminul alleged that Bodi, Ekramul’s political rival, meticulously planned the murder and later seized the victim’s properties through various means.
The case also names former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, former Road Transport Minister Obaidul Quader, former Inspector General of Police Benazir Ahmed, Brig Gen Mohammad Mahbub Alam, Colonel Anwar Latif Khan, Major Ruhul Amin, and Ashikur Rahman.
The tribunal has fixed August 25 for the next hearing.
According to the charge sheet, Ekramul was abducted on 26 May 2018 from in front of Hotel Netong in Teknaf on the pretext of settling a land dispute before being killed later that night on Marine Drive in what authorities described as a RAB gunfight. State agencies claimed yaba tablets and firearms were recovered from the scene, but the Department of Narcotics Control later confirmed that Ekramul had no drug-related cases against him.
The charge sheet further alleges that between 2009 and 5 August 2024, Sheikh Hasina orchestrated a systematic campaign to eliminate political opponents, dissenters, and critics through enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings carried out by law enforcement agencies.
Long wait for justice
The 14-minute audio recording began when Ekramul’s daughter called her father. During a second call that remained connected, gunshots were heard as he was killed, while the cries of his wife and daughters were captured in the recording.
Ayesha Begum described the past eight years as a life lived under constant surveillance rather than state protection. She said CCTV cameras were installed around their home, plainclothes personnel followed her and her daughters, lawyers refused to take the case out of fear, police declined to accept complaints, and RAB repeatedly raided their home while threatening them with enforced disappearance.
She also alleged that influential local figures, including former MP Bodi, grabbed the family’s ancestral property after forcing her relatives to sell it at nominal prices.
“I was told I could be killed at any moment. Seeking justice itself became a crime,” Ayesha said, adding that she finally feels some relief now that the ICT has formally begun hearing the case.
According to Amnesty International, at least 466 people were victims of extrajudicial killings during Bangladesh’s 2018 anti-drug campaign. Although the United States imposed sanctions on RAB in 2021, those accused in Ekramul’s killing remained beyond the reach of the law for years.
Following the fall of the Awami League government, Ayesha said she finally found the courage to speak publicly while several accused RAB officers went into hiding. The tribunal accepted the case in 2025, and the government later recognised the family as a “martyr family.”
Ayesha said she now hopes to witness justice for her husband’s murder and receive compensation from the state.
