Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday urged the government to investigate the alleged enforced disappearance of fisherman Miraj Sheikh in Mongla, following a High Court order.

“The alleged disappearance of 30-year-old Miraj Sheikh, who was last seen in the custody of the Coast Guard, appears to be the first known enforced disappearance case in two years,” the New York-based rights organisation said.

HRW also called on the government to reverse its decision to scrap reforms aimed at preventing enforced disappearances and to ensure accountability for abuses committed by security forces.

The statement said Lt. Cmdr. Mahbub Hossain, media officer for the Coast Guard’s Western Zone, had repeatedly denied that Miraj was in their custody and maintained that the force had no information regarding him.

According to HRW, Miraj was taken away by Coast Guard officers in a speedboat in Mongla on 10 April this year, based on reports from multiple witnesses.

“The following day, his family went to the Coast Guard office in Digraj, Mongla, where they were initially told that he was ‘on an operation’ and asked to return that afternoon. When they returned, the Coast Guard told them he had never been there,” the organisation said.

Miraj’s father, Mostofa Sheikh, filed a writ petition with the High Court Division on 22 June, seeking an order for Miraj to be produced before the court.

On 12 July, the High Court ordered that Miraj Sheikh, who has been missing for nearly three months, be produced before the court within 15 working days.

HRW said the case appeared to mirror abuses reported during the previous government led by Sheikh Hasina.

An independent Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances, formed by the former interim government, identified more than 1,500 cases of enforced disappearance between 2009 and 2024. Of those, at least 251 people never returned and are presumed dead, while 36 bodies were recovered.