Jan 05, Kathmandu - At least 287 people are suspected of having died in forced abductions in Bangladesh during the rule of ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. A government-appointed inquiry commission investigating 1,569 abductions has said that 287 of them are presumed dead.

According to the commission, it is believed that the bodies of the deceased were thrown into various rivers, including the Buriganga River in Dhaka, and buried in mass graves. The commission said that unmarked graves were found at various places. The commission's final report states that the security forces acted under the direction of Sheikh Hasina and her top officials.

The report said most of those abducted were members of the Jamaat-e-Islami and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which oppose Hasina. According to the United Nations, about 1,400 people were killed in the crackdown to preserve power. Sheikh Hasina has been sentenced to death in absentia for crimes against humanity.